CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The public has a chance to weigh in on a proposal to contract with managed care organizations for West Virginia’s foster care system.
A public hearing on the bill will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the House of Delegates chamber.
Lawmakers last week started considering changes to how foster care is run in West Virginia. The bill passed out of the Senior, Children and Family Issues committee.
It still has two more stops in the House, though. It next goes to the Health and Human Resources Committee. That would be followed by Judiciary.
West Virginia’s ongoing opioid addiction epidemic has put more and more strain on the foster care system. The state Department of Health and Human Resources has reported there are about 7,000 children in foster care.
DHHR has said it needs help managing the system. The agency says managed care would provide a benefit of tracking foster children as they move through the system, including practical matters such as records of doctor’s visits.
Some social workers and family advocacy groups have expressed caution.
“We’re very concerned about the managed care piece, especially because it’s moving so quickly,” said Marissa Sanders of the West Virginia Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Parents Network.
“We’d like to see them take their time and investigate what’s working, what’s not, what are the problems that really need to be solved and then look at what’s the best solution and not try to implement this so quickly. We’re very concerned it’s going to cause a lot of problems for foster families.”
DHHR officials have cited similar managed care models already implemented in other states. Sanders says she still has concerns.
“If I were in another state, I would still have concerns about managed care as a model in and of itself. Because 10 percent off the top of the contract will go into administration and profit,” Sanders said.
“In West Virginia, my particular concern is the speed at which they’re moving with this.”
Delegate Kayla Kessinger, R-Fayette, is the main sponsor of the bill. She talked about it last week on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
Kessinger spoke about the high number of children in foster care.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: We are in a state of emergency,” she said. “That dome light needs to be on because our kids are in crisis.
“It is about time we do something to be sure that they are front and center, that they are our priority, that we are safe, both medically and in their homes.”
Kessinger said the managed care organization could provide greater oversight for the healthcare of children in the foster care system.
“Right now there is no continuity of care for our kids,” Kessinger said last week. “DHHR testified yesterday that there is duplication of vaccination because there’s no continuity of care as they go from home to home or home to biological parents back out of the system.
“Their medical records get lost. They get forgotten. We believe a managed care organization can handle the healthcare and monitor those systems so we create a network for the children to make sure all of their needs are being met, whether it be mental or physical health.”