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Auditors: Millions go uncollected at HHS
Auditors: Millions go uncollected at HHS
http://www.northplattebulletin.com/i...04 &pageID=24 A family that received welfare owned more than $750,000 in real estate plus seven motor vehicles, and still received mental disability treatment for free from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. That was one of many accounting problems inside the Health and Human Services at the three state regional centers and another center in Beatrice, all of which treat people with mental disabilities, state auditor Mike Foley reported Monday. Auditors estimate that $18 million went uncollected in 2006 from people who could have afforded to pay. HHS accountants prematurely wrote off the bills. Gov. Dave Heineman ordered the audit in July. He joined Foley in calling for reforms, and recently appointed HHS chief of operations Christine Peterson said billing would improve. "Any time concerns are identified, they need to be addressed,� Heineman said. Sen. Tom Hansen has been concerned about some HHS practices for a long time. �Sometimes at the client level, it seems they either over-provide or under-provide services,� Hansen said. After months of investigation, auditors found the HHS department has been providing services but not collecting the bills. Under Nebraska law, individuals and families receiving services are billed according to their ability to pay. Their Nebraska taxable income, assets and liabilities determine their ability to pay. �My audit team found widespread confusion and inadequate accounting procedures,� Foley said. In numerous instances, HHS personnel wrote-down or wrote-off balances due without properly verifying the overall ability to pay of clients. HHS has said that nearly $38 million might never be collected from clients. Nearly all the problems were in the three regional centers in Hastings, Norfolk and Lincoln, plus the Beatrice center, which treats patients who are mentally disabled because of developmental problems, HHS spokeswoman Kathie Osterman told the Bulletin. The accounts at those three regional centers were adjusted by more than $18 million during 2006 with little justification, Foley said. Some of that money was lost because insurance and Medicaid claims were not filed on time. Also, auditors found that clients who did not provide financial information had their account balances adjusted all the way to zero, which is a direct violation of Nebraska regulations. One family owned more than $750,000 in real estate as well as seven vehicles. In another instance, an Omaha family owned an expensive home plus several vehicles, including two large motor homes. Their Nebraska taxable income was more than $829,000. That family sent a payment to HHS for services but HHS declined the check and returned it un-cashed to the family, saying the family had an undue hardship. �The investigation findings released today are deeply troubling to me and to the taxpayers of Nebraska,� Foley said. Nevertheless, Foley expressed gratitude to Gov. Heineman and HHS CEO Christine Peterson for an action plan that will put this matter in proper order, and which involved regular audits from his office.� Region II Human Services Kathy Seacrest of North Platte said this is about state-run facilities, not about local programs Region II delivers in west central Nebraska. Hansen: looking at other issues Hansen was one of three freshman senators last February who said they would learn all they could about HHS and see the system run better. Hansen said it is a formidable task. HHS has hundreds of departments and spends $1.14 billion every two years � the biggest budget of any state agency. �Their financial responsibility is a little out of whack,� Hansen said. �For instance, the Governor recently cut their budget by 2 percent, but one of the things that was eliminated was background checks of employees at nursing homes. We don�t want to compromise safety or care for nursing home patients. We need to increase the department�s efficiency. We�re in the process of looking into it.� Also, a private accounting firm is reviewing other HHS internal accounting, and their report is expected in March. CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS.... CPS Does not protect children... It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even killed at the hands of Child Protective Services. every parent should read this .pdf from connecticut dcf watch... http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US These numbers come from The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN) Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS *Perpetrators of Maltreatment* Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59 Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13 Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241 Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12 Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5 Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per 100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a bunch of social workers. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON... BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION... |
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