To be effective, Maine must clean up its own house and begin the process of restoring faith in government.

The Department of Health and Human Services spends about $3.4 billion a year (2013) in state and federal dollars and oversees a broad range of programs that include:1

MaineCare;

Child and family services;

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program;

Aging and disability services; Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center and Riverview Psychiatric

Center;

Substance abuse and mental health services;

Center for Disease Control and Prevention;

Multicultural services; and

Licensing and regulatory services.

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GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE

Creating the Office of the Inspector GeneralFor the Department of Health and Human Services

The Department of Health and Human Services is one of the largest and most complicated agencies in state government. Under the direction of Gov. Paul LePage, it has been mired in scandal and mismanagement, costing Maine taxpayers millions of dollars while hurting countless working families and businesses.

Maine must make every effort to ensure resources meant to fight poverty, hunger, homelessness and to provide health care to Mainers is spent wisely, waste, fraud and abuse need to be rooted out at all levels.

Because of its size and the complicated nature of the programs it oversees, the Department of Health and Human Services is vulnerable to mismanagement and abuse.

INTRODUCTION

Waste, fraud and abuse steals from working families and those who need help. I will not tolerate it. We cannot allow dollars meant to improve lives to

be misused, and that starts within the department itself.

The department is responsible for some of the most personal and immediate interaction between state government and Maine residents. Its critical that the department function properly to ensure peoples needs are met while maintaining public trust.

Under the LePage administration, the Department of Health and Human Services has lurched from one crisis or scandal to the next:

Allegations that senior officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ordered

documents shredded to hide inappropriate contract awards and now the FBI may be

involved;2 3

Failed efforts to contract for non-emergency transportation services that have cost the state

millions and left vulnerable people stranded;4

No-bid contracts to political cronies that produced the deeply flawed, controversial and

allegedly plagiarized Alexander Report;5 6

Controversial and inexperienced appointments inside the department;7

Serious problems at Riverview Psychiatric Center that cost the state millions of dollars in federal

funds while endangering staff and patients;8

Unexplained budget deficits and errors;9

Loss of program expertise and a politicized department;10 Contracting to move the Portland DHHS office from its longstanding downtown location to a

more inaccessible and remote location despite local opposition and reasonable alternatives;11

and Failure to perform core functions, which has caused homelessness to increase and programs to

fall into disarray.12

While the department has struggled under LePage, the governors efforts to combat waste, fraud and abuse have been ineffective and highly politicized. Even as his policies have failed and children and families have fallen into deeper poverty, the governor has focused on turning waste, fraud and abuse into a campaign issue instead of ensuring that his own administration works properly.

According to the Portland Press Herald, the LePage administration is spending $700,000 a year on eight new welfare-fraud investigators who have netted only $53,000 in restitution since January.1.13

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Millions of dollars have been wasted, lost or misused, and families have been hurt by mismanagement within the current administration. It must stop.

Gov. LePage is more interested in shaming poor families than ensuring effective and efficient program administration. The Office of Inspector

General will put the focus in the right place while combating waste fraud and abuse at all levels.

The Office of Inspector General will be independent from the Department of Health and Human Services and will focus on fighting waste, fraud and abuse, including within the Department of Health and Human Services, and will ensure that vital programs achieve successful outcomes for

Maine people.

The office will:

Combat waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct; Ensure program integrity, efficiency and efficacy; Make sure department dollars are spent properly; Oversee fraud investigations; Combine program expertise, audit and investigatory capabilities; Strengthen internal controls; Make recommendations to improve program performance and improve the services provided; Strengthen whistleblower protections1415 for state employees and empower state workers to

help identify program improvements, waste and fraud; Ensure that the department is transparent and follows rules around contract awards; Ensure that state laws are being enforced properly and in a timely manner; Work cooperatively with the Department of Audit and the attorney general to ensure

appropriate investigation and prosecution of fraud, abuse and misconduct cases; and Advise the governor and Legislature on the conduct of the department.

The inspector general will be appointed by the governor to a fixed, four-year term and confirmed by the Maine State Senate. The inspector general will be eligible for reappointment and can only be removed for cause.

The inspector general would be appointed without regard to political affiliation and be required to have significant experience based on integrity and demonstrated ability and experience in accounting, auditing, public administration, forensic auditing, management analysis, investigations or health care, as well as DHHS program expertise.16

In addition, its critical that the inspector general operate in a public, transparent way to ensure that information about waste, fraud and abuse is accessible, accurate and understandable. The Office of the Inspector General will be responsible for reporting annually17 to the Legislature, the governor and the public about actions taken to:

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THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

Investigate program integrity under the MaineCare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

and food supplement programs, including vendor activity and provide the amount recovered,

the cost of those investigations and prosecutions; Evaluate program administration to assure that individuals who are eligible for assistance are

receiving timely and appropriate services; The number of personnel working on the investigations, the status of cases referred to the

Office of the Attorney General; Description of the performance and activities of a vendor, contractor or other program integrity

unit used by the department to help recover overpayments; Description of the department's participation in federally mandated program integrity efforts; The results of federal audits; Description of defects, deficiencies or weaknesses in department systems and

recommendations for addressing the deficiencies; A description of planned investments in technology; and Explanation of policy changes or improvements implemented.

Maine currently has the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, which assists the Legislature with its oversight responsibilities.18

The office does important, quality work, but its program expertise, staffing and mission to serve the Legislature are not consistent with direct and ongoing oversight of the Department of Health and Human Services and it is not designed to conduct external fraud or compliance reviews or to oversee program compliance on an ongoing basis.

While OPEGA is a resource for the Legislature, the current state of affairs within the Department of Health and Human Service requires more consistent and day-to-day level of scrutiny.

The Office of the Inspector General will bring a professionalized focus on waste, fraud and abuse while helping to protect Maines vulnerable residents who depend upon the Department of Health and Human Service for important services.

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Policy should be based on facts, not anecdotes. An inspector general can help all of us to better understand the true nature of waste, fraud and abuse

in our systems.

51 http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/prog-serv-fund-apr-2013.pdf

2 Maine document shredding probe deepens; FBI interviews whistleblower, Steve Mistler, Portland Press Herald, Jan. 25, 2014. http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine_lawmakers_continue_probe_into_CDC_shredding_case.html?pagenum=full

3 While the state has canceled the transportation contract, the company continues to receive payments worth millions of dollars, including an extra $1.2 million in February, the Portland Press Herald reported on March 19, 2014. http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine_pays_extra__1_2_million_to_criticized_broker_of_rides_for_poor_.html

4 DHHS makes inexcusable lapse in MaineCare ride contract, editorial, The Morning Sentinel, Nov. 22, 2013. http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/OUR_OPINION__DHHS_makes_inexcusable_lapse_in_MaineCare_ride_contract_.html

5 Author of report from Alexander Group lifted text: Its literally two pages of text, Chris Cousins, Bangor Daily News, March 21, 2014. http://bangordailynews.com/2014/05/21/politics/author-of-report-from-which-alexander-group-lifted-text-this-is-just-different-than-the-way-our-work-is-generally-used/

6 Alexander Groups report is a failure, editorial, Bangor Daily News, Jan. 20, 2014. http://bangordailynews.com/2014/01/20/opinion/alexander-groups-report-is-a-failure-dhhs-should-demand-better/

7 DHHS puts activist who oversaw controversial $1 million contract in charge of finances, Chris Cousins, Bangor Daily News, Dec. 13, 2013. http://bangordailynews.com/2013/12/13/politics/former-conservative-political-operative-hired-for-lofty-dhhs-finance-post/?ref=search

8 DHHS ousts superintendent at trouble Riverview Psychiatric Hospital, Betty Adams, Kennebec Journal, March 6, 2014. http://www.pressherald.com/news/McEwen_removed_from_superintendent_s_position_at_Riverview_.html?pagenum=full

9 DHHS chief: Payment errors by DHHS had price tag of $10.7 million, Susan M. Cover, Kennebec Journal, April 28, 2012. http://www.kjonline.com/news/dhhs-chief-payment-errors-by-state-had-price-tag-of-_10_7m_2012-04-27.html

10 DHHS puts activist who oversaw controversial $1 million contract in charge of finances, Chris Cousins, Bangor Daily News, Dec. 13, 2013. http://bangordailynews.com/2013/12/13/politics/former-conservative-political-operative-hired-for-lofty-dhhs-finance-post/?ref=search

11 Plan to relocated Maine DHHS office draws protests, possible lawsuit, Kelley Bouchard, Portland Press Herald, Dec. 17, 2013. http://www.pressherald.com/news/Homeless_advocates_protest_DHHS_s_planned_move_to_South_Portland_.html

12 TANF time limits, one year later: How families are faring, Sandra S. Butler, University of Maine, March 2014. http://www.mejp.org/sites/default/files/TANF-Time-Limits-Full-Summary-%20March2014_0.pdf

13 As money goes to waste, LePage supporters silence is deafening, Bill Nemitz, Portland Press Herald, May 23, 2014. http://www.pressherald.com/news/Bill_Nemitz__As_money_goes_to_waste__LePage_supporters__silence_is_deafening_.html?searchterm=Nemitz

14 http://www.maine.gov/audit/fraud/fraudwpa.htm

15 Maine whistleblower: Boss ordered shredding of documents, Eric Russell, Portland Press Herald, Jan. 11, 2014. http://www.pressherald.com/news/Former_Maine_CDC_employee__Document_shred_order_came_after_media_request.html?pagenum=full

16 The qualifications are based on federal law for the appoint of inspector generals. https://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/IG%20Act%20Booklet-with%202008%20Reform%20Act.pdf

617 Mark The reporting requirement is consistent with LD 1829, An Act To Require the Department of Health and Human Services To Report Annually on Investigations and Prosecutions of False Claims Made under the MaineCare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Food Supplement Programs, which passed with bipartisan support in 2014 and was vetoed by Gov. LePage.

18 http://www.maine.gov/legis/opega/