ObamaCareFreeKansas 7 Serious Concerns & 7 Unanswered Questions
ObamaCareFreeKansas represents a growing number of Republican State Delegates and many others who are deeply concerned that the Patient "Protection" and "Affordable" Care Act (PP-ACA ObamaCare) continues to gain momentum in Kansas. While just weeks ago Kansans were celebrating Governor Brownback's rejection of the $31.5 million in ObamaCare Early Innovator Grant (EIG) money, all of a sudden the $130 million (possibly as much as $195 million) Accenture contract surfaces as a slam dunk of what appears to be the FIRST CRITICAL STAGES of the Obama Care Early Innovator plan (Phase 1 and Phase 2).
The primary objective of ObamaCareFreeKansas is not to make allegations, but to state the facts that are a matter of public record and to share a number of concerns that raise serious unanswered questions.
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CONCERN #1: The just-signed Accenture K-MED/KEES contract appears to be wholly compliant with ObamaCare ACA law.
On August 13, 2011 the Kansas State Republican Party united and drew a concrete line in the sand against any effort to advance the intrusive and destructive effects of the ObamaCare law.
" . . . Therefore, it is resolved that the Kansas Republican Party, in the strongest possible terms, rejects all parts of the ACA [Affordable Care Act aka ObamaCare] as unconstitutional and in contravention of the rights of the people and the Tenth Amendment-affirmed sovereignty of the state of Kansas and that any and all efforts thereof by any government agency, entity, or elected representative in the state of Kansas to study, develop or implement an ACA-compliant exchange or any component part, including those ACA-compliant components related to Medicaid, must be immediately halted."
(K-MED = KEES = ObamaCare/ACA-Compliance)
UNANSWERED QUESTION # 1 of 7: Why should the Accenture contract NOT be cancelled, or at a minimum, immediately halted?
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CONCERN #2: Many requests have been made of a number of agencies for documentation regarding the funding sources of the $130 million to $195 million that have been committed to pay for the Accenture contract. As of this date, those requests have been ignored or denied. On 9/21/2011 a spokesperson for the Administration stated that "these documents are being re-drafted."
Kansas Republicans were outraged when HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius touted Kansas as one of the seven model ObamaCare Early Innovator Grant (EIG) states. It was impossible to understand what strings were attached to those funds until funding source documents were studied. Once the ObamaCare Early Innovator Grant (EIG) announcement, application, and award documents were obtained off the internet, it became obvious that the grant required ObamaCare compliance and total ACA implementation.
In fact, compliance could have had unintended legal consequences that would have obligated Kansas to follow the dictates of Secretary Sebelius, regardless of the outcome of subsequent Supreme Court decisions. Judge Vinson, the Florida federal district court judge who first declared the Individual Mandate component of ObamaCare unconstitutional and the only judge to date who has affirmed the non-severability of the entire law, stayed his order a month later, citing as his justification the fact that eight plaintiff states (including Kansas) had continued to implement ACA in spite of his ruling.
Kansas Republicans do not want to repeat the same mistake that has already damaged the State of Kansas' plaintiff position against the constitutionality of ObamaCare.
UNANSWERED QUESTION # 2 of 7: Who authorized and granted the funding for the Accenture contract and what strings are attached to the Sebelius/Parkinson/ Praeger/Allison liberal and anti-free market agenda? WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM? Why has this information been impossible to obtain?
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CONCERN #3: Lt . Governor Jeff Colyer's public statements that "Kansas will not implement health insurance exchanges UNTIL THE COURTS HAVE DECIDED" are very disconcerting.
Not only does the Accenture/K-MED/KEES contract appear to be wholly compliant with ObamaCare, it actually implements the first critical stages required for ObamaCare exchanges. Even if the Governor took a "damn the torpedoes approach" that under no circumstances will Kansas implement ObamaCare-ACA compliant government controlled exchanges, that would not be enough according to our strongest judicial ally. Florida Judge Vinson's 3/3/2011 clarification of his original 1/31/2011 ruling points out two additional insights:
1.) "The act seeks to comprehensively reform and regulate more than one-sixth of the national economy. It does so via several hundred statutory provisions and thousands of regulations that put myriad obligations and responsibilities on individuals, companies and states."
2.) Vinson also stated, "Reversing what is presently in effect (and what will be put into effect in the future) may prove enormously difficult. Indeed, one could argue that was the point in front-loading certain of the Act's provisions in the first place."
Beware of the thinking that the pressure is off since the K-MED/KEES contract, in effect, is temporarily postponing the Health Insurance Exchange. The Health Insurance Exchange represents only a fraction of the "several hundred provisions and thousands of regulations" that the state of Kansas may be subject to due to its voluntary compliance with any part of the ObamaCare law. Judge Vinson's warnings make it clear that ANY avoidable ObamaCare ACA compliance only strengthens the Obama/Sebelius/Allison strategy against the citizens of Kansas.
Please also note that Kansas has already applied for, and been awarded, other grant funds that are directly associated with the ObamaCare ACA law. This ill-advised practice not only damages our plaintiff position in court, but it literally undermines the efforts of our own congressional delegation's plans to REPEAL THE ENTIRE ObamaCare law.
UNANSWERED QUESTION # 3 of 7: Is the Kansas Republican Party leadership truly committed to the repeal and defeat of ObamaCare, OR was the passage of Kansas Republican Party Resolution "C" to "protect our families, our healthcare, our economy and our freedom" just an exercise in political theatre?
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CONCERN #4: The ObamaCare liberals may have hijacked well-meaning efforts to improve the state's ability to fight fraud and more efficiently serve Kansas citizens through better technology infrastructure.
What does Kansas really need from a technology standpoint to fight fraud and increase administrative productivity?
What would be the specific requirements to accomplish these ends? How much would this more narrowly targeted focus cost?
How can Dr. Andrew Allison's anticipated system development costs of $25-50 million (as stated in a June 8, 2011 email) all of a sudden become $85 million as of August, 2011 (especially in light of the fact that the scope of the KEES project has been, supposedly, substantially reduced)? Or, is it true that the state medical insurance Exchange (Phase 3 in the new KEES proposal) has already been included in the $85 million? If not, then how much will it cost if ObamaCare is not struck down, and Kansas decides to proceed with Exchanges required by the ObamaCare ACA law?
What are the options for Kansas moving forward with the least amount of ACA compliance possible? Have any options even been considered?
Why have the details of Phase 3 of KEES been suppressed? These details seem to have been erased and left blank in the KEES statement of work (SOW). Who will determine those details and when will they be made public record? How much can we expect Phase 3 of KEES to cost?
UNANSWERED QUESTION # 4 of 7: How can one find out exactly what Kansas actually needs to fight fraud and substantially improve the efficiency of serving Kansans? What is it costing Kansas to implement the early phases of ObamaCare in IT dollars? What will it cost the Kansas economy in the event that any or all of ACA ObamaCare is implemented?
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CONCERN #5: Who are the primary driving forces of these Information Technology (IT) systems that have been and continue to be built to FULLY COMPLY with ObamaCare (including Phase 3 of the KEES state or federal medical insurance Exchanges)?
Here are some of the decision influencers and their known roles:
Kathleen Sebelius (D) - Secretary of HHS (Main Implementer of ObamaCare) - has been proud to tout Kansas as an ObamaCare Early Innovator State.
Mark Parkinson (D) - Former governor of Kansas. (Enabled Early Innovator Grant- EIG commitments)
Sandy Praeger (R?) - Kansas Insurance Commissioner. (The "big winner" here. For someone who just lost $31.5 million in EIG funds, she sure seems optimistic about her chances of implementing ObamaCare).
Dr. Andrew Allison, PhD - Director of Healthcare Finance Div of KDHE (the primary architect & financial catalyst for ObamaCare compliance). He is on record in June 2011 with an estimate of K-MED system development costs of about $25-50 million including the fully developed ObamaCare Exchange model. Then suddenly the cost of project development of a non-Exchange KEES system jumps to $85 million. These discrepancies need to be justified. It is our general understanding that he serves at the governor's pleasure.
David Kensinger - Governor's Chief of Staff- widely accredited with the confusing decision to hire Dr. Andrew Allison (ObamaCare exchange supporter and Sebelius holdover) as Director of Healthcare Finance Division to head up IT development of what is now referred to as KEES. He hired Amanda Atkins as campaign manager for the governor's campaign and facilitated her move to become Chair of the Kansas Republican Party. In a recent Kansas City Star article, one prominent Kansas elected official referred to Kensinger as a "Machavellian" - another said he was a Karl Rove, only smarter.
Dr. Robert Moser, MD - Secretary of KDHE (signed the agreement with Accenture). Responsible for the actions of Dr. Andrew Allison - the primary architect for ObamaCare in Kansas.
Rob Siedlecki, Jr - Secretary of SRS (responsible for implementing fraud detection and eligibility components of KEES).
Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) - Chair of Governor's Executive Sponsor/K-MED/KEES Steering Committee which is driving policy and money allocation decisions. He has stated repeatedly that Kansas will not build a state-based health insurance exchange UNTIL THE COURTS DECIDE.
Mark Dugan - Lt. Gov. Colyer's Chief of Staff with high-level staff responsibilities for both Governor and Lt. Governor (He negotiated an agreement between State Chair Amanda Atkins, Executive Director Clay Barker and State Delegate Steve Shute to unite behind Resolution "C.")
Governor Sam Brownback (R) - People are honestly very confused by his actions and inactions:
First he encouraged Secretary Praeger to continue to pursue Early Innovator Grant (EIG).
Then he adamantly claimed that EIG money could be spent on K-MED without obligating Kansas to build an ACA ObamaCareHealth Insurance Exchange.
Then, because of the strings attached to the funding, he returned the $31.5 million dollars to Kathleen Sebelius.
Suddenly, rumors circulated and a report was published (and confirmed by multiple public officials) that there had been a private meeting with key Kansas decision makers. They were supposedly told that alternative federal 90-10 matching funds were available and that these funds were connected to ObamaCare ACA law. The attendees were encouraged to keep this quiet.
Then out of nowhere, the same plan as described for the ObamaCare ACA Early Innovator Grant (EIG) with a doubled price tag shows up as a $195 million commitment to a company (Accenture) with a long pattern of questionable business practices.
Just days later it was announced that Accenture was settling for $67 million dollars what was reported as "whistleblower accusations" of criminal kickbacks and false claims!
The Administration has insisted that Kansas will not build a state Exchange UNTIL THE SUPREME COURT RULES on ObamaCare ACA law. Yet at the same time, the Administration allocated $195 million dollars to build and support the first two critical stages of a government-run Health Exchange. It is still unclear what funding will pay for Phase 3 of KEES (which includes a State Exchange) or whether the current price has funded Phase 3 of KEES in advance.
Mike O'Neal (R) - Speaker of the House - It is no comfort that Kansans must rely on Speaker O'Neal to stop the building of a Kansas-built ACA-compliant government-controlled and government-developed ObamaCare Exchange. In fact, he fired an elected Kansas House Representative from the committee designated for exploring Exchanges. He cited her well-informed critique of Exchanges on the Kris Kobach radio show as the reason for the dismissal. No reinstatement has been made even after both O'Neal and Brownback reversed their course and returned the $31.5 million dollar ObamaCare ACA Early Innovator Grant money.
UNANSWERED QUESTION # 5 of 7: Why are details regarding the funding sources and commitments of K-MED/KEES (suspected ObamaCare) projects being suppressed? Why are voices of concerned Kansans being muffled?
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CONCERN #6: Accenture, the lead contractor for the K-MED/KEES project - and the fact that the appearances of impropriety surrounding the company abound!
A major cause of angst revolves around the SUDDEN UNEXPLAINED CHANGES in direction and the LACK OF TRANSPARENCY of the process as a whole. Many wonder if the rush to announce the surprise 8/25/2011 Accenture contract was to precede the announcement of the disgraceful $67 million Department of Justice settlement regarding the lead contractor.
Just days after the Accenture contract was signed, the company agreed to a $67 million settlement for alleged criminal kickbacks and false claim charges. Not too long ago, Accenture was asked to abandon a project for the State of Texas. It is hard to forget that Accenture was created as a spin-off company from Arthur Andersen (complicit in the Enron and MCI scandals in 2000-2001). This concern isn't an accusation that Accenture consultants are criminals, but it is this type of corporate culture (or lack of reputation for integrity) that is very worrisome.
Multiple requests have not been successful in acquiring the specific funding details, bid invitation list, bidder's list, RFP and Vendor Proposals for both K-MED and KEES. Legislative Research and the Governor's office have apparently had similar difficulties in getting KEES-Accenture contract funding details.
Concern began to develop when a sitting Cerner Executive and Chair of the Kansas State Republican Party submitted a health care resolution under her name without disclosing her relationship with healthcare system provider Cerner Corporation and Cerner's connections with both Accenture and the Obama Administration. It is no secret that Accenture, Cerner and the Obama Administration are no strangers to each other. In fact, just the opposite is true.
Because of the tainted reputation of the selected vendor, hopefully any public efforts to investigate the who, what, when, where and why of this vendor selection process will be cheerfully assisted. It is very disturbing that funding documents for a $130-195 million contract already signed are STILL BEING DRAFTED.
The Governor's K-MED/KEES Executive Sponsor/Steering Committee's participants and meeting minutes are definitely of interest to understanding how decision makers arrived at their decisions to choose Accenture. Public records of these proceedings and discussions are very limited, unlike those of similar Insurance Commission Planning groups and the Department of Revenue DMV Modernization Project.
UNANSWERED QUESTION # 6 of 7: What do Kansas officials have to hide? Why would the state of Kansas consider doing business with Accenture knowing it's long history and pattern of questionable business practices and recent allegations of criminal behavior?
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CONCERN #7: Can an ObamaCare ACA government-controlled Exchange happen without the Kansas Legislature's approval? MANY BELIEVE THAT IT JUST DID!
It is unclear what influence, if any, the Kansas Legislature had over the allocation of the $130 to $195 million Accenture contract to build the first and fundamental phases necessary for the postponed implementation of wholly ObamaCare compliant ACA Health Insurance Exchange.
Experts Cannon (Cato), Graham (Pacific Institute) and insurance specialist Beverly Gossage are correct to assert that since HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius writes the checks, her rules will rule the day! This will be especially true if Kansas continues to obligate itself with ObamaCare ACA funding (with ObamaCare ACA strings attached).
The fact that Congress has not appropriated money to build federal Exchanges seems to be of little consequence. The Obama Administration may have moved beyond this potential barrier through the recently proposed IRS rules published in the Federal Register.
Factors worth noting here include:
House Speaker Mike O'Neal's tactic of muffling an elected official's voice for being openly critical of Kansas ObamaCare ACA health insurance exchanges.
Then consider the Administration's public record regarding ObamaCare ACA health insurance exchanges is "NOT UNTIL THE COURT DECIDES!" Not a definite "No!" to building ObamaCare ACA Exchanges in Kansas (state or federal government developed and controlled).
Then the Accenture KEES contract phantom Phase 3 which states, "Will support all Phase 2 requirements and all changes necessary to implement the Affordable Care Act" (ACA).
On September 21, 2011, in response to a written request for funding sources/details, an Administration spokesperson provided the Advanced Planning Document #42 - Kansas Medical Eligibility Determination System (K-MED) dated June 23, 2011 with the disclaimer that "these documents are being re-drafted." Please note that 27 days after a $130-195 million contract is signed the most complete source of funding information still included the following references:
1.) "We believe the $70 million to be the high end estimate and think the total cost could be considerably less than that, but will not have better numbers until contracts are finalized for K-MED and the exchange." (referring to high end cost) (p3)
2.) "Some of the increase in this estimated amount . . . including . . . The integration of the insurance exchange eligibility functions into the system, the integration of the on-line application with the exchange portal . . ." (p3)
3.) " . . . implementing an end-to-end solution linking the State's new medical eligibility system (K-MED) to the Kansas Health Insurance Exchange." (p8)
4.) "real time adjudication of the request and individuals can enroll in appropriate insurance plans immediately." (p3)
5.) "K-MED will provide a single integrated portal so that individuals applying for health coverage will be considered for all medical programs as prescribed by federal law. Those who are determined ineligible due to excess income (exceeding 400% FPL) will still be given the opportunity to purchase insurance, but the cost of insurance will not be subsidized." (p2)
Quite frankly, there is little reason for optimism that the political will or leadership exists in Kansas to stand up against the Administration on this, much less the IRS proposed rules or Kathleen Sebelius' multi-billion dollar checkbook.
IF KANSANS WANT TO STRIKE DOWN, DEFEAT and REPEAL ACA ObamaCare, it looks like they will need to stand up and demand the immediate TRANSPARENCY of our Kansas government!
UNANSWERED QUESTION # 7 of 7: Who in the Kansas Legislature or anyone else in Kansas government is going to stand up to the Administration, House Speaker, Obama's new proposed IRS Rules AND/OR the Sebelius billion dollar checkbook?
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Again, If An ObamaCareFreeKansas Is To Be, It Is Going To Be Up To US!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
obamacarefreekansas@gmail.com
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