The Ohio Association of County Boards of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services due to a shift in control of funding April 26.
The Athens County Commissioners wrote a letter of support for the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Boards lawsuit May 25. Commissioner president Bill Theisen said the commissioners disagree with the new rules.
If this system continues
it will probably bankrupt the MRDD board and local county levy funds he said.
Theisen said the funds come directly from taxpayer's dollars.
It will just take all the control clear away from local boards and county commissioners said Theisen.
These people in Columbus think we can give them something every time they ask
and we just can't do it. And it's a shame because it takes funding away from the people who need it the most
Theisen said.
The loss of control in funding and the high rates have been caused by two new rules the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services has created, the contract rule and the rate-setting rule, said Jody Harris, Athens County Mental Retardation Developmental Disabilities Superintendent.
The new contract rule says I cannot cancel a contract for non-compliance of the contract
and we object to that. They're arguing that only the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services and Ohio Department of MRDD can cancel it --county boards can't. We're using our local levy dollars to match federal dollars and we want some control over that money
she said.
Payments for services given by Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Boards are based on set fees as of January 2003 caused by the rate-setting rule, according to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
Jon Allen, spokesman for the department's Office of Legislation, said it is not entirely clear to him why the lawsuit is being filed.
These rates have been in effect since 2003. When different rates went into effect January 1 of 2004
we rescinded those rates after local concern
he said.
Allen said, We think part of the underlying issue behind all of this is that the money comes from federal funding for the Medicaid program. They have received millions in additional funding
but at the same time when you accept federal money there are certain regulations and things you have to follow.
The fact is that in receiving this money they also have to accept the strings that come with it and they can't spend it as freely as they could their own local money
Allen said.
The Office of Legislation administers the Medicaid program, which provides funding for the total state fiscal year, said Allen. For the 2004 fiscal year there is $360 million on the federal and state levels.
