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lottachatter
of augusta, ME
Jan 4, 2008 8:35 AM
From what I understand it was a contracted company that worked on the system that made the mess.report abuseEllenW
of OOB, ME
In April 2001, the state of Maine issued an RFP for the new system
In October 2001, the state awarded the contract to CNSI, giving the company 12 months to build and deploy a new high-end processing system by the HIPAA deadline of Oct. 1, 2002.
In the fall of 2002, just months away from the HIPAA deadline, the DHS team got a reprieve. The federally run Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services pushed back the deadline to Oct. 1, 2003.
In January 2003, John Baldacci was inaugurated governor.
As I said before the Baldacci administration also screwed up, but the original specifications, RFP and vendor selection were made by the King administration.
I did not say, or even imply, that Baldacci is blameless - just pointed out who the original (and biggest) culprit is! There's plenty of blame to go around, but King should not be left out!report abuse
Jan 2, 2008 10:15 PM
Actually I was using clear facts that I found by actually looking up the history of this debacle. The MECMS system took years to develop and ran years late and way over budget. It did indeed span 2 goverors' administrations. From CIO Magazine's article on MECMS:
In April 2001, the state of Maine issued an RFP for the new system
In October 2001, the state awarded the contract to CNSI, giving the company 12 months to build and deploy a new high-end processing system by the HIPAA deadline of Oct. 1, 2002.
In the fall of 2002, just months away from the HIPAA deadline, the DHS team got a reprieve. The federally run Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services pushed back the deadline to Oct. 1, 2003.
In January 2003, John Baldacci was inaugurated governor.
As I said before the Baldacci administration also screwed up, but the original specifications, RFP and vendor selection were made by the King administration.
I did not say, or even imply, that Baldacci is blameless - just pointed out who the original (and biggest) culprit is! There's plenty of blame to go around, but King should not be left out!report abuse
CommonCents
of Brunswick, ME
Jan. 2003. Gov. Baldacci sworn in as Governor
Jan. 2005..."Since it went online in January 2005, the MECMS program has, by universal agreement, been nothing but trouble. Mary Lou Dyer, the Managing Director of the Maine Association for Community Service Providers, a trade organization for 450 of the state’s practitioners working with the developmentally disabled, has a more pungent term for MECMS. She calls it "a nightmare."' PORTLAND PHOENIX
Sept. 2005, Baldacci Administration appointees accept full blame:
Once again, Ellen W's attempts at spin doctoring ignore the Facts:
Jan. 2003. Gov. Baldacci sworn in as Governor
Jan. 2005..."Since it went online in January 2005, the MECMS program has, by universal agreement, been nothing but trouble. Mary Lou Dyer, the Managing Director of the Maine Association for Community Service Providers, a trade organization for 450 of the state’s practitioners working with the developmentally disabled, has a more pungent term for MECMS. She calls it "a nightmare."' PORTLAND PHOENIX
Sept. 2005...Baldacci administration appointees accept full blame for the fiasco:
On September 29, at the meeting of the Joint Commission on Appropriations and Financial Affairs and in the midst of debate about the merits of Mary Mayhew’s claims that members of the Maine Hospital Association are owed hundreds of millions of dollars because of MECMS delays, DHHS Commissioner Nicholas accepted the blame for the project.
"We take total responsibility for the system and challenges it’s made for our providers," Nicholas said. Surrounding him were commissioner Wyke, Chief Information Officer Richard Thompson, and deputy commissioner Hall"
ELLEN W...did you write the coverup press releases for this incredible fiasco?report abuse
Jan 2, 2008 9:49 PM
Once again, Ellen W's attempts at spin doctoring ignore the Facts:
Jan. 2003. Gov. Baldacci sworn in as Governor
Jan. 2005..."Since it went online in January 2005, the MECMS program has, by universal agreement, been nothing but trouble. Mary Lou Dyer, the Managing Director of the Maine Association for Community Service Providers, a trade organization for 450 of the state’s practitioners working with the developmentally disabled, has a more pungent term for MECMS. She calls it "a nightmare."' PORTLAND PHOENIX
Sept. 2005, Baldacci Administration appointees accept full blame:
Once again, Ellen W's attempts at spin doctoring ignore the Facts:
Jan. 2003. Gov. Baldacci sworn in as Governor
Jan. 2005..."Since it went online in January 2005, the MECMS program has, by universal agreement, been nothing but trouble. Mary Lou Dyer, the Managing Director of the Maine Association for Community Service Providers, a trade organization for 450 of the state’s practitioners working with the developmentally disabled, has a more pungent term for MECMS. She calls it "a nightmare."' PORTLAND PHOENIX
Sept. 2005...Baldacci administration appointees accept full blame for the fiasco:
On September 29, at the meeting of the Joint Commission on Appropriations and Financial Affairs and in the midst of debate about the merits of Mary Mayhew’s claims that members of the Maine Hospital Association are owed hundreds of millions of dollars because of MECMS delays, DHHS Commissioner Nicholas accepted the blame for the project.
"We take total responsibility for the system and challenges it’s made for our providers," Nicholas said. Surrounding him were commissioner Wyke, Chief Information Officer Richard Thompson, and deputy commissioner Hall"
ELLEN W...did you write the coverup press releases for this incredible fiasco?report abuse
EllenW
of OOB, ME
Jan 2, 2008 7:24 PM
Wasn't it the King administration wrote the specs for the new computer billing system and selected the company that designed it? Seems that Baldaci inherited a lot of this mess. His administration does own the error of not dumping it sooner and throwing good money after bad, but Governor King is the one who should be getting the hardest broadsides here.report abuseYou must be a registered user of MaineToday.com to post a comment. Register or log in.
