ARCHITECT OF ILL-FATED AGENCY MERGER WILL GO.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Daily News Staff Writer The director of the county's Behavioral Health Behavioral health was first used in the 1980's to name the combination of the fields mental health and substance abuse. As an example, an organization serving both mental health and substance abuse clients might refer to its practice as behavioral health or Department - on a 30-day leave because of his role in the failed merger with the Public Social Services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales Agency - will resign within a month, officials said Thursday. Stephen Kaplan was placed on leave last Friday by Chief Administrative Officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive Lin Koester, after an internal investigation into the merger that could ultimately cost the county millions of dollars in state and federal reimbursements. ``He's offered up his resignation at the conclusion of his leave of absence,'' said one official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. ``The merger did not work. ``Steve didn't work with the chief administrative officer as far as moving the merger along. You can't have the CAO not included. Otherwise your whole decision-making structure falls apart.'' Kaplan could not be reached for comment. County officials say Kaplan was instrumental in the merger, helping convince the Board of Supervisors to consolidate the two social services operations into the $171 million-a-year Human Services Agency. The supervisors voted 3-2 for the merger on April 7, 1998 - about a month after a consultant warned that the county could lose up to $15 million a year in Medicare and Medi-Cal payments. Supervisors said they went ahead with the merger because of Kaplan's assurances that receiving the reimbursements would not be a problem. After the merger, however, the federal Health Care Financing Administration Health Care Financing Administration, n.pr department in the U.S. agency of Health and Human Services responsible for the oversight of the Medicaid and Medicare benefit programs, including guidelines, payment, and coverage policies. ruled that the Human Services Agency was out of compliance with state licensing laws and federal Medicare requirements and would not receive the money. The agency also determined that the merger failed to establish a direct line of authority between Behavioral Health doctors and the Ventura County Medical Center Ventura County Medical Center is a hospital in the city of Ventura, California, USA. It is a 208 bed acute care hospital. The county also operates a 49 bed campus in Santa Paula. . Because of the widespread problems, the supervisors voted unanimously on Dec. 22 to dismantle dis·man·tle tr.v. dis·man·tled, dis·man·tling, dis·man·tles 1. a. To take apart; disassemble; tear down. b. the merger. Additionally, a review last month by federal officials also determined that Kaplan had failed to apply for some $3 million in Medicare reimbursements for a three-month period in 1998, officials said. ``That's something you don't forget, especially if you're a manager,'' one official said. ``An agency relies on financing from the feds and the state.'' Kaplan's paid leave will be deducted from the 46 days of annual leave afforded each year to him and most other employees who have at least 15 years of continuous service and who do not receive overtime pay. Kaplan has worked for the county 17 years and makes $102,946 annually. ``I believe (the leave) is a precursor to (Kaplan) leaving county government,'' said another official. ``He was instrumental in coming up with this concept of the merger and didn't study it very well. If he did not do his job then he should find other employment.'' Supervisor Frank Schillo, who opposed the merger from the start, called for an internal investigation last month to determine who was responsible for misleading the board into believing bringing the superagency su·per·a·gen·cy n. pl. su·per·a·gen·cies A large government agency composed of or coordinating a number of smaller agencies. into compliance was merely a formality formality, in chemistry: see chemical equilibrium; concentration. . ``We got very bad information,'' Schillo said. ``I do rely on staff to some extent to make my decisions. If the staff isn't giving us balanced information, I've lost confidence in relying on them. We're using the taxpayers' money to do something that wasn't properly researched.'' The county spent $114,000 on legal and consulting fees in the failed merger attempt and will spend thousands more in legal fees in an attempt to recoup recoup To sell an asset at a price sufficient to recover the original outlay or to offset a previous loss. the Medicare and Medi-Cal payments. |
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