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DAYTON — State officials announced they would end Medicaid contracts worth tens of millions of dollars with the two private companies responsible for the care and oversight of 14-year-old Makayla Norman of Dayton, who died March 1 of medical and nutritional neglect.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced Monday it will terminate its contract with Huber Heights-based Exclusive Home Care, and will not renew its contract with CareStar of Ohio.
“Ohio Medicaid has determined that it is not in the best interest of our beneficiaries or the Medicaid program to have a provider agreement with an agency whose staff were indicted for the death of a person enrolled in the Medicaid program,” said Ohio Medicaid Director John McCarthy of its contract with Exclusive.
The announcement came a day after the Dayton Daily News published an in-depth review of the massive and growing problem of fraud in the Medicaid system, and how oversight by the two companies failed Makayla.
The newspaper reported that at her death, Makayla — who dealt with severe cerbral palsy all her life — weighed 28 pounds, her unwashed body covered with open bed sores, some packed with her own feces. The Montgomery County Coroner ruled her death a homicide by reason of medical and nutritional neglect. Her only source of nutrition was the five to six cans of Ensure — an over-the-counter dietary supplement — she was to get daily through a feeding tube.
Four people — her mother, Angela Norman, and three nurses — Molly Parsons, Kathryn Williams and Mary Kilby — face criminal charges. Parsons and Williams worked for Exclusive. Parsons provided the daily care, and Williams, a registered nurse, supervised that care and reported back to Exclusive monthly the state of Makayla’s health. Williams was to see Makayla every month.
Kilby worked for CareStar as case manager for Makayla to ensure her eligibility for the program, to develop her care plan and to check that the care plan was followed. Kilby was to see Makayla every six months.
Angela Norman and Parson are both charged with involuntary manslaughter and remain in the Montgomery County Jail under $250,000 bond. Williams and Kilby are charged with failing to report abuse or neglect.
Both Exclusive and CareStar worked as proxies for the Department of Job and Family Services under separate contracts. ODJFS had no face-to-face contact with Makayla or any of the other disabled children for which it is responsible.
Exclusive, which was to provide the nursing care for Makayla, received nearly $1 million in 2010 caring for 112 clients, who, like Makayla, needed medical assistance to remain in their homes under a state program designed to save taxpayers $1.5 billion annually, according to McCarthy.
In a letter dated Monday, McCarthy terminated Exclusive’s contract with the state Department of Job and Family Services. Calls to Exclusive were not immediately return Tuesday.
Cincinnati-based CareStar is responsible for overseeing tens of thousands of home care providers in the state, and has received nearly $187 million under its contract since 2005. That contract recently was extended and the Ohio Medicaid was considering another extension.
That additional extension, said McCarthy, is not going forward. Instead, the contract will be “open ... to competition to ensure that Ohio Medicaid will get the best organization possible.”
Calls to CareStar President Thomas Gruber went to voice mail Tuesday.
State officials say their decision follows a lengthy review of CareStar and its processes, which led to the decision to bid out the program to get the best possible vendor. Bids will focus on how the companies will ensure greater oversight of providers and how they will reduce the risk of a tragedy such as this from occurring again, McCarthy said.
Exclusive has 30 days to challenge the termination of its contract with the state.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2290 or dpage@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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