Eau Claire (WQOW) - A long-term care provider that had been teetering on the brink will close its doors at the end of the year.
Community Health Partnership, based in Eau Claire, will dissolve. CHP provides long-term care to 2,700 people in western Wisconsin. It offers programs (health care, transportation, etc.) that help the elderly and those with disabilities remain in their homes. In July, CHP told the state it was not financially viable for it to continue offering family care services, so the state will contract with another MCO (managed care organization) next year. The state is soliciting bids for the contract right now. It says it doesn't anticipate any interruptions in service.
CHP employs 360 people. A representative says they aren't sure how the decision will affect staffing through the end of the year.
With an aging population, long-term care is something we'll be hearing a lot about in the coming years, but as more people need the care, the question becomes, "Who will foot the bill?" A recent audit of MCOs shows as family care expanded across the state, so did the cost. Expenses went from about $250 million in 2005 to $936 million four years later. According to the audit, federal medical assistance funding supported 69% of program expenditures.
As of December 2010, three MCOs had negative net assets. That included CHP, which was in the red by $6 million. The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance had identified CHP as "financially hazardous."
CHP is also facing a class action lawsuit. WQOW News 18 reported on that lawsuit last month. (You can read/watch that story here.) CHP is one of three managed care organizations being sued for allegedly discriminating against those with developmental disabilities. The plaintiffs claim their funding for care is being cut, but not on the same level seen by the elderly or other groups. One family told WQOW News 18 the cut in funding could force them to place their daughter in a home where they don't believe her needs would be met.
*********************************
Eau Claire (WQOW) - An area health care provider will close its doors at the end of the year, a move that will leave hundreds without a job.
Community Health Partnership provides long-term care to 2,700 people in western Wisconsin. CHP offers programs that help the elderly and those with disabilities remain in their homes. Its contract with the state will expire at the end of the year. In July, it told the state it was not financially viable for it to continue offering family care services. So once CHP's contract with the state expires at the end of the year it will close. CHP currently employs 360 people. A representative says they aren't sure how the decision will affect staffing through the end of the year.
The state is in the process of finding an organization to take on CHP's customers. Those people should be receiving a letter in the mail in the next few days. The state expects another organization to step in and doesn't anticipate any interruptions in service.
