2007 STEWARDSHIP PROJECT

February 08, 2007

Where's Gregoire?

By Bob Williams

Have you ever notice the pleasure children receive when delving into one of the numerous “Where’s Waldo” books? Though attempts to find Waldo are good-hearted fun, taxpayer’s attempt to find leadership in the midst of hundreds of millions of dollars of state legal violations is a more troubling endeavor.

When it comes to Governor Gregoire and the state’s seemingly perpetual Medicaid audit problems, the search for executive leadership evokes the frustrating question, “Where’s Gregoire?”

Consider the fact that once again the state auditor has identified multiple problems with the state’s Medicaid program, yet to date, the governor has been silent on how to address the hundreds of millions of dollars in problems discovered. In fact, of the 19 audit problems discovered this year, 17 were also identified last year. This means that a whopping 89 percent of this year’s findings are repeat violations of law!

Though this is an improvement from last year’s record 28 violations of law, the most potentially expensive problems—approximately $800 million worth of findings—have not been corrected! This despite the fact that the solution is easily within reach if the governor would adopt the same intensity she poured into suing the tobacco companies during her time as attorney general.

At issue in the two most expensive Medicaid audit findings is a disagreement between federal agencies on what standards the state is to follow to comply with law. Over the past few years various state agencies have attempted to have this point of contention clarified; however, they have not been able to bring the full weight of the state of Washington behind this effort due to the lack of direct involvement by the governor.

Without Governor Gregoire becoming personally and proactively involved in solving the state’s Medicaid audit findings these problems will continue. To help bring about speedy resolution, the governor needs to call a “all hands on deck meeting” with the state auditor, legislative leaders, the federal inspector general, federal Center for Medicaid Services, and DSHS to demand the federal government clarify the rules and regulations the state’s Medicaid program is subject to.

Eight months ago, staff from the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) requested—through the governor’s Chief of Staff, Tom Fitzsimmons—a meeting with the governor to address these serious problems. The meeting was never set up and EFF’s call for the governor to convene an “all hands meeting” was ignored.

This lack of executive leadership has resulted in the state auditor and audited agencies wasting precious man-hours and tax dollars to resolve these audit problems on their own. Exacerbating this situation is the fact the state law does not distinguish between contentious audit findings and those agreed to by the audited agencies. Current state law requires all audit findings to be corrected within six months. A repeat audit finding should never occur—let alone 17 in just one program!

Until the necessary executive leadership is demonstrated to resolve the state’s Medicaid audit, taxpayers will continue to wonder, “Where’s Gregoire?”

Bob Williams is the Founder and Senior Fellow of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a public policy organization in Olympia, Washington, dedicated to the advancement of individual liberty. He is known as a national expert in the areas of fiscal and tax policies, election reform and disaster preparedness. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University. Bob worked as a GAO auditor of the Pentagon and Post Office before moving to Washington state where he served five terms in the Washington state legislature and was the 1988 Republican nominee for governor.

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