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We Won’t Say—& We Won’t Say Why

by Paul Bass | Sep 27, 2005 5:28 pm

Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Health Care

They said they won’t tell us how they’re spending $625 million of our tax dollars on health care for the poor. That was bad enough. (“The Right to ‘No.’”) They called that information a “trade secret.” Now a bunch of HMOs and their enablers in the Rell administration refuse to tell us why they consider it a trade secret. So on Tuesday legal aid lawyers announced in New Haven that they’ve filed yet another Freedom of Information complaint over the Medicaid/HUSKY program. They want the state at least to describe why it considers this crucial public information too much of a “trade secret” to reveal to the public. Below are the press release and the complaint they filed.

NEW HAVEN LEGAL ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION, INC.
426 STATE STREET
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 06510-2018
TELEPHONE:  (203) 946-4811
FAX (203) 498-9271


September 27, 2005

M E D I A   R E L E A S E

APPEAL FILED WITH FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMISSION OVER STATE AGENCY REFUSAL TO RELEASE MEDICAID HMO DOCUMENTS JUSTIFYING SECRECY IN STATE CONTRACTING

Today, representatives for low-income Medicaid recipients and a Yale professor filed an appeal of the Department of Social Services’ decision to delete from letters it received from its Medicaid HMOs the explanations for why documents from the HMOs about their provider rates are being kept secret from the public.  The advocates say that DSS is not only fighting to hide the MCOs’ provider rates; it also wants to keep under wraps the MCOs’ very reasons for demanding this lack of transparency in state contracting.  These layers of secrecy, the advocates say, prevent them from making sound legal arguments at an upcoming FOIC hearing, thus frustrating the Governor’s expressed wish to hold state agencies and their contractors accountable to the public.

The State of Connecticut spends over $625 million each year for essential Medicaid health coverage for low income families and children (covering 310,000 people, most of whom are children).  The money goes to four HMOs which contract with the Department of Social Services (DSS).  But despite the amount of money being pocketed by the HMOs, many low-income people still have trouble getting access to some types of medical care. 

One problem, advocates believe, may be that the HMOs are paying particularly low rates to specialist doctors who are treating low-income families.  So they have asked the question:  How much do the state-paid HMOs pay these doctors? 

But this simple question has caused the HMOs and DSS to throw a cloak of secrecy over the use of state funds for Medicaid.  The HMOs have claimed that their decisions about how to spend taxpayer money, including how much they pay their Medicaid providers, are “confidential trade secrets.”  The advocates’ challenge to this secrecy will be heard by the Freedom of Information Commission on October 19th. 

The Yale Professor, Kari Hartwig, had requested information about provider rates paid by the HMOs through the Freedom of Information Act.  DSS initially resisted any attempt for this information even to be obtained by the agency.  But under pressure from the Governor and the Attorney General about the need for these documents to be obtained and made public, DSS sought some of the documents from the HMOs.  After a substantial delay, the HMOs have now given some of the requested information to DSS — but on condition that DSS not allow public or legislator access to the information.  On Monday, September 19th,  DSS released these HMO documents to the requesters — but to protect the HMOs, it eliminated all information that would answer the important public policy questions. 

DSS has even refused to release to the public parts of the HMO letters that explained the HMOs’ reasoning why they think the information involves “trade secrets.”  So even the justification for the “trade secret” argument is being described as a “trade secret”!
DSS’s Deputy Commissioner, Michael Starkwoski, claimed in a July 26, 2005 letter to the Attorney General that “the [Rell] Administration and the Department fully support the public having access to information concerning how tax dollars are being spent by the agency, and strongly believe that state agencies must be accountable to the people in this regard.”  However, the agency’s decision to produce only heavily redacted documents regarding why provider rate information should be kept secret from the public undercuts his claim. 

The appeal letter with one of the redacted HMO letters is attached.  For more information, please contact attorneys representing the parties in the FOI Commission proceeding seeking the HMO documents:

Victoria Veltri     Daniel J. Klau
Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc.  Pepe & Hazard LLP
(860) 541-5037   (860) 241-2627
   

Sheldon Toubman   Randi Faith Mezzy
New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc.      Connecticut Legal Services, Inc.
(203) 946-4811   (203) 756-8074

                # # #

NEW HAVEN LEGAL ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION, INC.
426 STATE STREET
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 06510-2018
TELEPHONE (203) 946-4811
FAX (203) 498-9271

September 27, 2005

Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission
18-20 Trinity Street
Hartford, CT 06106

Re: Appeal of Refusal by the Department of Social Services to Produce Unredacted Copies of Correspondence with Medicaid Managed Care Organizations

We are writing, on behalf of the complainants in Hartwig v. Commissioner, State of Connecticut Department of Social Services, Docket No. FIC 2005-025; and Hunt v. Commissioner, State of Connecticut Department of Social Services, Docket No. FIC 2005-284, to appeal the refusal of the Department of Social Services (“DSS”) to produce unredacted copies of correspondence between itself and its four Medicaid Managed Care Organization (“MCO”)  contractors, related to DSS and the MCOs’ responses to earlier requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act related to rejections of drugs at the pharmacy and provider rates paid for certain specialists.  On September 19, 2005, DSS provided to the below-signed attorneys copies of some correspondence between itself and the MCOs related to these requests, which are the subject of pending appeals before the Commission.  However, the documents produced were heavily redacted with regard to the MCOs’ explanations as to what they had provided and why they believed that the data they provided to DSS partially responsive to the original two FOIA requests was not subject to disclosure under the FOIA.

The documents that have been redacted are necessary for complainants to review in their entirety in order for the complainants properly to prepare for the October 19, 2005 consolidated hearing in the two pending appeals related to claimed exemptions under the FOIA and lack of production of documents under those two requests.  In the absence of production of these explanatory documents, complainants will be unable to even know what the MCOs’ basis is for claiming that the underlying data regarding their performance under their state contracts should be kept secret from the public as confidential “trade secrets.”

To the extent it would facilitate the resolution of this appeal, and the two pending appeals, we respectfully request that this appeal be consolidated with the other two appeals. 

  The September 1, 2005 FOIA request that is the subject of this appeal and the redacted documents produced in response are attached hereto.

      Respectfully yours,


Randi Faith Mezzy   Sheldon V. Toubman
Connecticut Legal Services, Inc.  New Haven Legal Assistance Ass’n
(203)756-8074 ext.112   (203)946-4811, ext. 148


Victoria Veltri     Daniel J. Klau
Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc.  Pepe & Hazard LLP
(860)541-5037   Attorney for Kari Hartwig

Attachments
cc (w/attachments):
    Victor R. Perpetua, FOIC Hearing Officer
    Assistant Attorney General Hugh Barber
    Sheila Huddleston, Esq., Counsel for Community Health Network of CT
    Linda Morkan, Esq., Counsel for Health Net and WellCare/Preferred One
    Steven Barry, Esq., Counsel for Anthem of Connecticut/Blue Care Family Plan

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