Q&A
DOE's current process for paying providers
1:46:58
ยท
124 sec
Council Member Shahana Hanif asks about the DOE's current process for paying providers. Liz Vladeck explains the process, which is influenced by the LV litigation and a recent consent order.
- The DOE is undertaking more than 40 commitments to transform and overhaul the payments process.
- The process involves an implementation team within the office of the general counsel, which breaks down decisions from hearing officers and authorizes payments.
- The division of financial operations then processes the payments, reportedly within a day of receiving authorization.
Shahana Hanif
1:46:58
And and then more broadly, can you walk me through DOE's current process for paying providers?
Liz Vladeck
1:47:04
Sure.
1:47:06
So that is a very important question.
1:47:08
It gives me the chance to talk about the LV litigation and which has been around for a long, long time.
1:47:15
And in 2023 in the summer of 2023, we enter the court entered a consent order, that was rooted in deep work that we did with the court special master to assess on a comprehensive basis where payments were going wrong and why it had become so difficult.
1:47:35
So this is another so we are undertaking more than 40 commitments under this order to completely transform and overhaul our payments process.
1:47:46
There's no doubt that there's been a backlog for a long time.
1:47:49
We're making tremendous progress in catching up with it.
1:47:53
And I have continued to encourage folks with specific case information or specific examples to reach out to me directly so that we can run those down.
Shahana Hanif
1:48:03
But that doesn't answer the question around the current process.
1:48:07
Could you describe how the LV litigation relates to the current process?
Liz Vladeck
1:48:12
Sure.
1:48:12
So the LV litigation covers, due process cases.
1:48:16
So once an impartial hearing officer makes a decision, issues an order saying here's what DOE has to do to implement the IEP or IESP.
1:48:26
The case goes over to the implementation team on in within the office of the general counsel, which has to break down the decision from the hearing officer, make sure it's clear what relief has been requested, seek certain authorizations, whether it's from providers, parents, or attorneys, make sure we've got a clear basis for what it is we'd be paying for, and then move forward to authorize those payments.
1:48:51
That process then moves over to the division of financial operations, which my understanding is is getting payments out the day they receive our authorization or within a day.