Friday, September 18, 2015

Richard Wyatt, top Human Services official, resigns amid Medicaid probe

Posted By Max Brantley on Fri, Sep 18, 2015 at 9:03 AM

RICHARD WYATT

Richard Wyatt, the chief information officer at the state Department of Human Services, submitted his resignation Thursday, effective Oct. 30.

Wyatt has been the point man at the department in explaining exploding costs, money spent on non-functioning systems and other problems in the computerized system for enrolling people in Medicaid and checking the eligibility of those receiving health insurance coverage under the private option expansion of Medicaid.

Wyatt has been grilled by legislative committees over his agency's work and a decision this week to attempt to subpoena testimony from federal officials was widely understood to be a probe aimed at checking events as described by Wyatt against the view of the federal agency that supervises Medicaid and Medicare payments to the states.

At a meeting earlier this week, legislators discussed Wyatt's failure to notify the federal officials of a change in software providers and Wyatt's decision to bypass bidders for the contract in selecting a new provider. Testimony differed on whether Wyatt had been told he could not negotiate with the bidders.

In confirming my tip on the departure, DHS spokesman Amy Webb said:

Yes, Dick is leaving. During a conversation earlier this week, John told Dick that he felt like now was a good time for a change. It’s been a difficult few months and this will give us a fresh start on the project. Dick agreed to stay on until Oct.30 to help ease any transition, which we greatly appreciate.

Here’s an email that John sent to Dick and his staff yesterday that can stand as John’s statement.

You have led the Department through very challenging times and have a long list of innovations and accomplishments to your credit, not the least of which was quickly standing up a system that could offer health coverage to 200,000 low income adults. We are all indebted to you for your commitment and expertise.

Thanks for being a true public servant!

And thanks for agreeing to stay on for a while to help us through the transition.

I've sought a comment from Gov. Asa Hutchinson and asked whether he encouraged the development.

UPDATE: A statement from J.R. Davis, the governor's spokesman:

It is common practice for agency directors to make the Governor’s office aware of any personnel changes, and that was the case in this situation. The Governor has confidence in his agency directors to make these decisions, and all other inquiries into this matter should be directed to DHS.

PS — The legislature's Joint Audit committee is questioning DHS officials this morning about the extensive report issued earlier on software problems. (Find a PDF at the link, which is to Legislative Audit homepage.) Not a happy morning. In summary, the audit found:a failure to hold vendors accountable, inappropriate use of "sole source," or no-bid contracts, improper cooperative purchase agreements, a lack of disclosure to legislature and non-compliance with rules, and poor cost containment in use of contract labor.

From the ArkTimes store

Tweet

Instapaper

    Favorite
  Saving…
Share

    Comments
    
      (12)
    
Email

Comments (12)

Showing 1-12 of 12

Add a comment

Subscribe to this thread:

By Email

With RSS

Showing 1-12 of 12

More by Max Brantley

Finalists announced for next chancellor of UAMS

Univesity of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt has announced two finalists — from North Carolina and Texas — to succeed the retiring Dan Rahn as chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
- by Max Brantley
- Jun 29, 2017
Presidential? No. But that's what his voters wanted, right?

Donald Trump went nuts on Twitter this morning, slamming the hosts of "Morning Joe," including a reference to a supposedly "bleeding" Mika Brzezinski.
- by Max Brantley
- Jun 29, 2017
How bad are Trump's judges? A Little Rock native illustrates

Little Rock native John Bush, hoping to save his appointment to a federal judgeship, is avoiding questions about or sometimes repudiating outrageous things he's said on a blog he and his equally conservative wife write. It's an illustration of how bad Donald Trump's judicial appointments have and are going to be.
- by Max Brantley
- Jun 29, 2017
More »

Readers also liked…

Federal judge wants John Goodson to explain class action maneuvering

A show-cause order filed Monday by federal Judge P.K. Holmes of Fort Smith indicates class action attorney John Goodson has some explaining to do about the move of a class action complaint against an insurance company from federal to state court with an instant pre-packaged settlement that has been criticized as a windfall for Goodson.
- by Max Brantley
- Dec 22, 2015
Satanic Temple: Make Rapert pay for Ten Commandments monument

A petition drive has begun to encourage a demand that Sen. Jason Rapert pay for the legal fees in defending his Ten Commandments monument proposed for the state Capitol grounds. It's more work by the Satanic Temple, which has fought church-state entanglement around the country.
- by Max Brantley
- Aug 28, 2016
Al Gore remembers Dale Bumpers

Former Vice President Al Gore, a former U.S. Senate colleague of Dale Bumpers, sent a statement on Bumpers' death Friday:
- by Max Brantley
- Jan 3, 2016

Most Shared

Ten Commandments monument installed, Sen. Rapert presides. Lawsuit to come

The 10 Commandments monument was put in place on the Capitol grounds this morning and Sen. Jason Rapert, the evangelist who sponsored legislation to enable it, was on hand to preen before the cameras.

RT @MattMershonKATV: HAPPENING NOW: Arkansas State Police conducting search for suspect involved in short pursuit on I-430. @KATVNews #ARNe…
KATV News

RT @AustinKellerman: .@NLRPD releases statement on @OfficerNorman social posting controversy #ARNews https://t.co/tL4y6tDxnV
Fox16 News

RT @AustinKellerman: .@NLRPD releases statement on @OfficerNorman social posting controversy #ARNews https://t.co/tL4y6tDxnV
KARK4News

Car-Mart’s top executives saw no pay increase in fiscal 2017
TalkBusiness.net

Judge sets bond for man arrested for monument’s destruction
Associated Press via TheRepublic.com

More Headlines...

Most Viewed

Amazing Grace: The Christian faith of the monument wrecker

Don't go blaming the 10 Commandments destruction on the act of a "godless thug," as one right-wing commentator did. The record shows a troubled individual who professed deep Christian faith.
10 Commandments monument at Arkansas Capitol destroyed; suspect in custody for apparent repeat offense

New 10 Commandments monument at Arkansas Capitol has been destroyed and a suspect who apparently filmed himself driving into the granite tablet is reportedly in custody.
A lesson in the law for Jason Rapert

Matt Campbell,the Little Rock lawyer who writes Blue Hog Report, has posted some lessons in 1st Amendment law for Sen. Jason Rapert, who has continued to defend the Ten Commandments monument on Capitol grounds against plans by the ACLU and others to sue over placement of a religious sect's text on state grounds.
Don't take your gun to the medical marijuana dispensary

Arkansas is moving forward with its new medical marijuana law, with applications available beginning Friday to obtain medical marijuana cards. But note, lawful medical marijuana use will mean the end of lawful use of firearms.
Short-sighted Republicans stop planning grant for LR-Hot Springs trail

Bloc voting by the five Republicans on the Pulaski County Quorum Court stymied a plan for an initial county investment in a trail from Little Rock to Hot Springs.

Most Recent Comments

Re: Agreement with Steve Womack. Maybe we need a new team?
- We knew this before, Steve. You've never shown the ability to govern. It's always been…
- Posted by wannabee conservative
- on June 29, 2017
Re: Don't take your gun to the medical marijuana dispensary
- The state issues MMJ cards, the state issues CHL and expanded carry licences. The state…
- Posted by jj
- on June 29, 2017
Re: Don't take your gun to the medical marijuana dispensary
- Ha, someone using medical marijuana would be on the top of my list of people…
- Posted by Earl
- on June 29, 2017

Top Commenters

Slideshows

March for Science, April 22, 2017
Pictures at an execution
Photos taken Thursday night by Brian Chilson and David Koon, at Cummins Prison in Grady, the State Police barricade away from the prison and in front of the Governor's Mansion, before and after the execution of Ledell Lee.