Kane Co. Health Dept. now favors delay of planned downsizing

A downsizing of the Kane County Health Department may not happen until the end of the year, thanks to a change of heart about how soon services can be transferred to private health care providers.

However, county board members voiced some fear about the state ever paying for services when there is no contract requiring it to do so.

The county is currently contemplating a shift of all its family case management to private sector organizations that are amply reimbursed by the federal government. Family case management provides a path to Medicaid services for about 6,000 local low-income mothers and their babies. That would also result in the layoff of 62 health department employees.

Health department Executive Director Paul Kuehnert called for an additional 90-day delay on the service transfer Wednesday. That proved to be an uphill battle as such a delay requires placing some faith in the state after Kuehnert spent the past month trumpeting the state's inability to pay as one of the reasons for the downsizing.

On Wednesday, Kuehnert had to backtrack a bit. He told county board members further discussions with the private health care providers taking on the county's caseload revealed those organizations would be more comfortable with some extra time to accommodate thousands of new cases.

The delay may soothe some of the public outcry that the fast-track to downsizing would result in women and children falling through the cracks. However, the request for another 90 days increased the fears of county board members who share Kuehnert's view on the state's ability to pay.

A 90-day delay would mean the county would continue providing services to its current clients, but with no contract saying the state will pay the county for those services.

The state already owes the county about $1.5 million in reimbursements several months past due. Kuehnert said media coverage of the health department's issues fueled a recent conversation with state Human Services Secretary Michelle Saddler.

"I believe they would welcome us extending the transition period and would support us with financial support during that 90-day period," Kuehnert said. "That does increase our exposure to further payment delays. But I have every reason to expect with the high profile we now have that the state would come through."

County board member Bill Wyatt isn't so sure. "My level of confidence is not real high," he said. "That's the genesis of this whole thing. We don't trust the state."

The full county board will vote on the delay, and the overall downsizing, next Tuesday.