MORGANTOWN – The state will spend just over $1 million to engage a consult on the best way to reorganize the Department of Health and Human Resources, DHHR announced Friday.
The contract is going to McChrystal Group LLC, of Alexandria, Va. The company provided a cost estimate of $503,648 for an organizational assessment of DHHR and $578,770 to develop a strategic plan for its organization and financial structure — for a total $1,082,418.
Gov. Jim Justice said in the announcement, “I am committed to making our DHHR better and look forward to engaging with these national experts to complete the top-to-bottom review, so that we may clearly identify DHHR’s issues and inefficiencies. We need to make sure there is no lapse in services for our residents who rely on their support.”
The Legislature has talked about breaking up DHHR for years, saying it’s too large and unwieldy. In 2018, the House of Delegates passed a bill breaking DHHR into four separate entities – in a 62-36 vote – which then died in Senate Finance.
Last session, Justice vetoed HB 4020, which aimed to break DHHR into the Department of Health and the Department of Human Resources. It passed both houses overwhelmingly – 83-11 in the House, 31-3 in the Senate, then 94-4 back in the House when it took up Senate amendments.
But Justice said in March the bill was flawed. “The bill, as presented, does not provide adequate direction on the many questions that must be addressed in this massive endeavor, including important questions regarding how the federal funds will flow to ensure we don’t jeopardize significant federal funding. Additionally, this bill would have split the DHHR by January of next year, but it wouldn’t have made budgetary changes take effect until six months after that. It is unclear how the different effective dates could work in concert.”
Justice promised then to engage with national experts and industry leaders to coordinate and complete a top-to-bottom review of the DHHR, “so that we may clearly identify its issues, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies. We will work to develop a plan to address any and all problems, which may very well require a full reorganization of the agency. But we will do so in an effective and efficient way, so we can make sure there is no lapse in any vital support or services for the West Virginians who rely on the DHHR.”
Following the veto, a Request For Proposal (RFP) was posted in mid-April, resulting in two soliciting bids. Dickson, Hughes, Goodman Healthcare of Birmingham, Ala, with an office in Charleston was the second bidder.
The RFP was reviewed by a committee composed of non-DHHR state employees selected by Justice.
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