COUNTY COULD RECEIVE MEDICARE REPAYMENT.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 After meeting with federal officials, Supervisor John Flynn said Tuesday that he believes Ventura County will recoup up to $15 million in Medicare reimbursements that were jeopardized by its failed health department merger. Flynn said the reimbursements likely will be forthcoming if county officials can prove there is a direct line of authority between 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. and county-run outpatient clinics. ``We're not going to lose any money,'' he said, adding that 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. is working with the county to resolve the situation. ``They're not our enemy,'' he said. But Janice Caldwell, associate regional administrator for HCFA HCFA abbr. Health Care Financing Administration HCFA, n.pr See Health Care Financing Administration. , said it could be months before her office determines whether the county will receive health care reimbursements. ``We want to be able to chase the chain of command to the hospital,'' she said. Up to $15 million in reimbursements for patients treated at county clinics is at stake after a failed attempt last year to merge the 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 and Public Social Services departments into a $171 million-a-year Human Services Agency. The supervisors approved the merger in April by a 3-2 vote, despite a consultant's warnings that it could lose up to $15 million in Medicare and Medi-Cal payments because it violated federal regulations. The HCFA rejected the merger in December, and the supervisors dissolved the merger Dec. 22. Behavioral Health Director Stephen Kaplan was placed on paid administrative leave 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 for his role in the failed merger. Officials have said Kaplan will resign when his 30-day leave expires. And Kaplan's two deputy directors, Kevin DeWitt and Judi Balcerzak, recently went out on stress-related disability leaves, officials said. All Behavioral Health personnel are reporting to Pierre Durand, who is director of the health care agency. Durand has appointed psychiatrist David Gudeman to serve as interim medical director of mental health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract for Behavioral Health. County Auditor Thomas Mahon said his staff will complete a financial review within a week to determine whether the behavioral health office is mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in debt. ``I'm not saying there is a deficit or that there isn't one,'' he said. Durand expressed concern earlier that a fiscal year 1998-99 deficit of as much as $1.5 million might exist. |
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