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WELD COUNTY COUNCIL
April 21, 2014
The Weld County Council met in regular session in full conformity with the Weld County
Home Rule Charter, Monday, April 21, 2014, at the Weld County Administration
Building, Greeley, CO.
ROLL CALL: The meeting was called to order by Councilwoman Marge Klein
and on roll call the following members were present, constituting a quorum of members
thereof:
Councilwoman Marge Klein
Councilman Brett Abernathy
Councilman Don Mueller
Councilman Bernard C. Kinnick
Councilman Jeffrey Hare- Excused
Also present: Director of Human Services, Judy Griego, Commissioner Sean Conway,
Karin Crandall and Sarah Mundt, Council Secretary.
En APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Councilman Mueller made a motion to approve the
April 21, 2014 Agenda. The motion was seconded by Councilman Kinnick and the
motion carried.
El APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilman Abernathy made a motion to
approve the February 10, 2014 Minutes. The motion was seconded by Councilman
Kinnick, Councilman Mueller Abstained, and the motion carried. Councilman Mueller
made a motion to approve the March 17, 2014 Minutes. The motion was seconded by
Councilman Kinnick and the motion carried.
REVIEW PROGRAM: Judy Griego, Director of Human Services. Also
presenting was Karin Crandall of the Department of Human Services and Commissioner
Sean Conway
Director Griego presented on the County's roles in the implementation of the Affordable
Healthcare Act around the Medicaid expansion and Connect for Health Colorado. The
Department's responsibility was around case management of Medicaid cases that came
thought a case manager called Maximus, a 3`°' party vendor contracted through the
State. Maximus was responsible for applications to Medicaid specifically for the
Affordable Healthcare Act. The process took place through Peak Online where an
application was passed on to be processed by Maximas and then Human Services
would receive all Medicaid applications and process them for the State. The Board and
the Department of Human Services met preemptively and recognized that the process
in place may not work as planned and the Board gave the Department of Human
2017-2900
Weld County Council
April 21,2014
Minutes
Services the approval to hire 8 temporary employees to process the unprocessed
Eligibility Applications for Medicaid. As the training was taking place for the temporary
employees, the flood happened and that caused some chaos. Problems with Maximus
and the Application process arose with the fact that Maximus did not have enough
phone lines to handle and answer the numbers of callers and questions coming in.
Overflow Weld County residents' questions were directed to the Department of Human
Services. This was problematic because the Department of Human Services could not
access the applications and intervene to help. Mistakes were made in the approval
process were made by Maximus, some were approved when not eligible, others were
denied when eligible, and Maximus could not be reached via phone calls. Weld County
residents would stay on the line for hours and hours trying to reach a contact in
Maximus. Enrollment is in November, so the process will begin again and DHS is
considering removing the third party, many considerations are being looked at before a
decision is made. Weld County had 5,788 people enroll in the Exchange through April
14, 2014, the demographics of the enrollees are Birth-17 (12%), 18-25 (8%) and 26-64
(80%). Children's Health Plan Plus has also increased in the expansion.
• Councilman Mueller asked how income is verified for the Exchange process.
o Employers are required to report quarterly to the Department of Labor the
income of all employees. The information is automated into the
Department of Human Services system and eligibility is determined with
that information.
• Councilman Abernathy asked about how residents are funneled and approved
through the exchange if they do not want to be in Medicaid.
o Residents do not have much say. If they qualify for Medicaid and do not
want it, then they will have to purchase their own private insurance and
will not be eligible for the tax credit.
• Councilman Mueller asked if there are more on Medicaid than necessary.
o Some people would like more choice in the process and choice in the
care, but the process does not allow for that. People have asked for a
Waiver option, but the guidelines are defined at the National level and the
County has little say in the decisions. When Colorado opted into the Act
and received the funds, a little over 180 million dollars, the County
became responsible for implementing the Exchange. Little funding was
passed down to the Counties to fund it, but petitions have been made to
the Legislature and the Feds did give up to $400,000 for the Eligibility of
Medicaid reimbursement.
Flood response on day one DHS were part of the Disaster Center. Weld County had
Outreach Sites that were open for multiple days at the Millikin town Hall, Del Camino
Office, Greeley Recreation Center, Evans Community Center, and Island Grove. The
Department of Human Services were part of the communications with the Red Cross
and head staff members were at the Disaster Centers and outreach sights gathering
applications and getting services provided. Case Managers went out to each of the
shelters to connect with families to get them out of the shelters and services provided.
Disaster victims were focused getting immediate needs provided for but they obviously
Weld County Council
April 21,2014
Minutes
wanted to get into housing and back to work. 194 households were assisted with over
$94,000 of food benefits. Around 250 households were issued a $610,000 to help
mitigate the disaster. The types of assistance included replacement of personal
belongings, replacement of furniture, insurance deductibles, rental or mortgage
assistance, and temporary shelter. The community also stepped up and donated over
800 gift cards for assistance to stores such as Safeway, King Soopers and Wal-Mart.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None at this time.
El OLD BUSINESS: None at this time.
NEW BUSINESS:
Coordinator Reports— None at this time
Upcoming Meetings/Invitations— None at this time
Pay Bills: Councilman Abernathy motioned that the bills be paid. Councilman Mueller
seconded, and the motion carried.
• Mileage
o Councilwoman Klein $34.02
o Councilman Mueller $5.94
o Councilman Abernathy $3.24
o Councilman Kinnick $5.94
Councilman Kinnick asked about the Salary Setting. This will be added to a future
agenda and the Council Secretary will provide the State Salary Model to the Council
Members before the meeting.
Christopher Woodruff, County Assessor, is our next meeting speaker and Councilman
Abernathy will be the coordinator for the May 19, 2014 meeting at the Southwest
County Service Center.
ADJOURNMENT: By acclamation, the meeting was adjourned at 7:29 p.m.
Vra- -9."
April 21, 2014 Council President Marge Klein
Council Secretary Sarah Mundt
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