New York state is facing a new lawsuit alleging irregularities in the bidding process for Gov. Kathy Hochul's overhaul of its massive $9 billion home health care program.
A new filing alleges that the powerful medical union 1199SEIU will help controversial company Public Partnership LLC secure a multimillion-dollar contract to handle payment services for a rapidly expanding consumer personal assistance program. It claims to have been working on a fix to help.
At least five lawsuits have been filed to shed light on Hochul's overhaul of CDPAP, two of which specifically allege collusion on the part of the governor's administration.
Mr. Hochul and the state Legislature eliminated approximately 700 middlemen companies that provided payroll services between CDPAP caregivers and Medicaid as part of a review of the government's program for alleged fraud, and selected only one. It was agreed that the work would be outsourced to a company contractor.
Critics, including established brokers like Marks Homecare LLC, which filed the latest lawsuit in Albany Supreme Court, have criticized the process by which Public Partnerships LLC reached the bid.
According to the Dec. 6 lawsuit, 1199SEIU Vice President Rona Shapiro told some home care agencies on a June Zoom call that the state Department of Health was still accepting offers for two months. Despite this, he brazenly stated that he knew PPL would win the contract.
“M.S. Shapiro stated that 1199SEIU met with DOH representatives and learned that DOH would award a single, statewide FI contract to PPL,” attorneys for Mark's Homecare LLC wrote in the filing. are.
The Post reported in April that PPL had been floated as a potential contractor during state budget negotiations.
The complaint also alleges that DOH provided 1199SEIU, one of New York's most powerful labor unions, with a list of all intermediaries, known as fiscal intermediaries.
The newspaper reported in September that 1199SEIU would contact potential bidders for the massive contract and pledge to remain neutral on attempts to unionize the approximately 250,000 CDPAP care workers under review. He made it clear that he had asked for it.
A spokesperson for 1199SEIU said Monday that it has “worked to consult with all potential bidders to ensure the program can continue to serve consumers and ensure workers are fairly compensated.”
The representative added that he had “no knowledge of which company would win the contract until the official announcement” and called the allegations in the latest lawsuit “patently false.”
A spokeswoman declined to provide a transcript of the June meeting with Shapiro mentioned in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit does not list any other details about the meeting, but the filing includes an email listing the home care agency personnel who were invited. No one responded to The Post's inquiries.
A PPL spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
A spokesperson for Hochul denied the allegations.
“The state Department of Health followed a standard procurement process based on qualifying language approved by the state Legislature,” the official said in a statement.
PPL plans to begin transitioning approximately 250,000 people receiving care under CDPAP to its payment processing service on January 6, 2025.
A PPL spokesperson told the Post earlier this month that implementation of the new integration program is “progressing well.”
