BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Thousands of Alabama families say they are struggling to make ends meet after a state program made some changes.
The Alabama Department of Senior Services handles the elderly and disabled Medicaid waivers that pay parents to hire caregivers. Wedge Clamp
Susan Lee, a special education teacher and parent to 16-year-old Alyssa Lee who has Rett syndrome, said the issue started when ADSS switched fiscal agents. Since then, she and several other families have not received pay.
Lee and her family have been a part of the ADSS personal choice program for five years with no issues, until now.
“I can’t leave my child with no care, I have to continue working and logging those hours I am supposed to be paid for and yet we are not getting paid,” Lee says.
Lee along with 7,000 other families were notified of the change in November, but they say they didn’t get additional information until after the change was made in December.
“So, the change happened without us being trained and without any information,” Lee says.
Lee says as many families started to scramble, they set up a Facebook page to share information.
“Pay day was supposed to be January 12 and that payday came and went. We started emailing and calling, those calls went unanswered. I went seven days with no call backs over six different calls,” Lee says.
In the Facebook group, some families report getting the money, but it was late.
“Our timesheet was in on December 30, I know somebody whose timesheet was in on January 4th, and they have been paid and we have not.”
Lee and several others have sent emails to state reps, ADSS, Acumen and even the governor seeking help.
Right now, they have a GoFundMe to support the families that she says are on the verge of losing power, lights and food.
“Acumen when we finally get through say “oh just be patient” and when we hear from Alabama Department of Senior Services they say, “oh just be patient.” How long are we supposed to be patient?” Lee says.
ADSS says they are aware that some Medicaid waiver participants have experienced delays in payments, which ADSS deeply regrets. Some payments were delayed because of inaccurate information transferred from the former vendor to the new vendor. Other payments may have been delayed because of late submissions of time sheets or inaccurate information supplied by clients.
Regardless of the cause of the delay, ADSS says they are working tirelessly to help the former vendor and current vendor process payments as quickly as possible.
WBRC also reached out to Acumen who delivered the following statement;
“Acumen fiscal agent (acumen) was brought in by the Alabama department of senior services to replace the incumbent provider allied. Acumen was selected in a competitive RFP process and was chosen as the best provider from 6 national bidders. Acumen has been providing these services for 28 years and is one of the largest and most respected fiscal management services companies in the country.
“To clarify a large misconception that is out there, Acumen only began accepting claims on December 23rd, 2023, and our first pay cycle was on January 12th, 2024. All claims submitted before December 23rd, 2023, and all payroll prior to January 12th, 2024, are the responsibility of Allied.
“Acumen is NOT authorized by contract to pay service dates prior to December 23, 2023. ADSS is working with Allied to ensure care workers receive payments for these prior payrolls. Again, these are services for which Acumen has no data or authorization from ADSS to remit payment. The contract for these services is between ADSS and Allied, and Allied remains the provider responsible for payment.’ We encourage any participants seeking help with those claims to contact Allied and/or ADSS.
“Additionally, we are reaching out to every individual we can that has submitted any improper claims to try and help them correct it and get them paid asap. Acumen will continue to work with ADSS and allied earnestly to obtain adequate data and authorizations to continue making both in-cycle and out-of-cycle payments to care workers to support them during this transition. Regarding the individual you mentioned in your email we can confirm that they have been paid as of today.
“Acumen desires nothing more than to facilitate all participants receiving payments based on timely, accurate claims that have been pre-authorized by ADSS. Acumen cares deeply about the participants in the Alabama ADSS program. We are working round the clock in partnership with ADSS to resolve any ongoing data, claims, and payroll issues created during this transition. We will continue to do so until every eligible participant has been successfully transferred.”
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