A firm reportedly set to try to take over as middleman for the state’s controversial, $9 billion home-care program has been the subject of at least one lawsuit, an audit and complaints in other states.
New York currently uses hundreds of companies to handle its government pay-outs to at-home caregivers, but the Hochul administration wants to consolidate the work through a single firm.
Public Partnerships LLC is a potential leading contender, although the framework for the bidding process is still being worked out, more than a half-dozen sources told The Post.
Critics call the overall move “a recipe for disaster.”
“Governor Hochul’s plan to [overhaul] New York’s home care has never been about saving taxpayer money or stopping fraud. It’s been a backroom deal from the start,” alleged Bryan O’Malley, executive director of Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State.
O’Malley’s trade group represents many of the nearly 700 middleman firms that would be cut out with the selection of just one company.
“History has proven this is a recipe for disaster and will only end up hurting the elderly and disabled New Yorkers who rely on this program and the home care workers who help them,” O’Malley contended.
A 2013 state audit of PPL’s work for Pennsylvania found that there were significant “red flags” indicating PPL was not prepared to take over the contract, leading to lapses in caregivers getting paid.
The firm was sued as part of a class-action case involving more than 20,000 home-care workers in Pennsylvania as a result.
PPL has also lost or not had its contracts renewed in New Jersey, Washington state, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee.
A rep for PPL said the company ultimately chose not to renew the contract in Washington and that it also remains in good standing in the state.
The representative added, “We are in good standing with all the states we serve.’’
The rep declined to comment further, noting that the New York work has not even been put out to bid yet.
But a number of disability rights groups criticized the firm in general.
In 2020, the New Jersey-based Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities wrote in a report that the firm had “egregious fiscal and operational failures.”
Dawn Russell, vice chair of the New York-based Center for Disability Rights, said, “We have been forced to use PPL in Colorado, and it has taken up to eight months for me to onboard an attendant.”
A rep for Hochul said in a statement that the governor is standing by her plan to move forward with a single contract.
“Our reforms will strengthen [the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program], protect home care users and ensure taxpayer dollars are effectively serving the people who need them,’’ the statement said.
“The criteria included in this RFP, which was approved by the State Legislature earlier this year, will help us ensure timely and uninterrupted payment to caregivers.’’