Disabled activists asked lawmakers for a more active role in the state’s Medicaid system Tuesday, saying they are well positioned to help catch instances of fraud and abuse.
And the state needs all the help it can get, they said, alleging numerous instances of Medicaid fraud, abusive service providers and retaliation against complainers. To make Medicaid better, they would like the protections of statutory whistle-blower status and an official state advocate, they said.
If the state listens to the people who receive treatment under Medicaid, it could make the program more efficient and effective, they said.
“We’re the experts,” said Jan Bach of Aurora, who has an adult developmentally disabled daughter. “As scary as that may be for some of you, that’s the truth.”
The meeting – the result of negotiations last month when the activists staged a takeover of the Joint Budget Committee hearing room, using wheelchairs and canes to block the doors, was cordial.
Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, said he was happy to meet with the activists. But he cautioned them that he would never again respond to such tactics.
“What happened at the Joint Budget Committee is history,” he said. “We’re not going to talk about that.”
By the end of Tuesday’s meeting, Tapia said he intended to look further into the issues.Though it’s probably too late to get anything done this legislative session, Tapia wants to “sit down with departments (over the summer) and ask them what is their plan of attack to solve this,” he said.
Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition executive director Julie Reiskin said she thought the meeting went well.
“We see a lot of waste and abuse in the system and would like to be part of the solution,” she said.
Staff writer Jim Hughes can be reached at 303-820-1244 or jhughes@denverpost.com.
