"Proceed With Caution": NY State Sen. Warns Of IRIS Bid Winner

The story MacIver exclusively brought you earlier this year about red flags around the single company the Wisconsin Department of Health Services selected to run the entire $1.4 billion state home-care program, IRIS, is gaining widespread attention.

On Sunday, the weekly state public affairs program UpFront covered the mounting concerns over the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ plan to consolidate the IRIS long-term care program under a single vendor, Public Partnerships LLC (PPL). The discussion highlighted risks to the more than 29,000 Wisconsin participants who rely on the self-directed Medicaid program for in-home care, caregiver support, and transportation.

DHS announced in January its intent to move from multiple fiscal agents to PPL alone for the program, projected to cost more than $1.5 billion this year. The decision is now under review after competing vendors filed formal protests. Those protests accuse PPL of introducing unacceptable risks, citing real-world problems in other states after similar consolidations, including payroll disruptions, workforce instability, data exposure, and service interruptions.

Patients and their advocates are concerned.

Jason Glaser, executive director of the Coalition of Independent Living Centers, told UpFront that while some administrative improvements might occur, “based on what we’ve seen in other states, I can’t say the same for the way services will roll out to consumers.” People with disabilities, he noted, are “incredibly scared” because they depend on these services to remain in their communities.

The segment came just days after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against PPL and New York state officials, alleging a sham bidding process and an unlawful scheme that allowed PPL to siphon millions in unauthorized profits from New York’s $10 billion Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP). PPL has rejected the allegations as inaccurate and pointed to its 25 years of experience across 18 states. DHS has said consolidation will deliver better customer service and faster response times.

New York State Sen. James Skoufis (D), who held hearings on PPL last year, described the New York transition as a “full-blown disaster.” He told UpFront that tens of thousands of enrollees were delayed for months, thousands of caregivers went unpaid, and PPL lied under oath at his hearing, claims he said are supported by emails revealed in the DOJ lawsuit.

In New York, “Democrats and Republicans have raised serious concerns about PPL and, in particular, the bidding, albeit the transition itself was a disaster for months after the award was granted to PPL. So it's, yes, the bidding that is my major concern, but the transition was a major mess,” Sen Skoufis said.

While operations have since improved, Skoufis urged Wisconsin officials to “proceed with caution” and “learn from some of the mistakes that occurred here in New York,” stressing that these programs involve people’s lives, not just taxpayer dollars.

“Wisconsin is right to take a pause here and review everything before moving forward,” Skoufis reiterated.

Skoufis’ concerns align closely with those uncovered by MacIver’s reporting since the January announcement. MacIver has documented PPL’s track record of payroll and transition problems in other states and questioned whether Wisconsin’s bidding and evaluation process adequately accounted for those risks.

Read MacIver’s January coverage here and February analysis here.

As UpFront made clear, the stakes for Wisconsin’s most vulnerable residents, and the integrity of the IRIS program, remain high as DHS reviews its decision.