Mayor Anthony Williams, transmittal of contract between the Control Board and Greater Southeast General Hospital
April 23, 2001

Home

Bibliography

Calendar

Columns
Dorothy Brizill
Bonnie Cain
Jim Dougherty
Gary Imhoff
Phil Mendelson
Mark David Richards
Sandra Seegars

DCPSWatch

DCWatch Archives
Council Period 12
Council Period 13
Council Period 14
Election 1998
Election 2000
Election 2002

Elections
Election 2004
Election 2006

Government and People
ANC's
Anacostia Waterfront Corporation
Auditor
Boards and Com
BusRegRefCom
Campaign Finance
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Management Officer
City Council
Congress
Control Board
Corporation Counsel
Courts
DC2000
DC Agenda
Elections and Ethics
Fire Department
FOI Officers
Inspector General
Health
Housing and Community Dev.
Human Services
Legislation
Mayor's Office
Mental Health
Motor Vehicles
Neighborhood Action
National Capital Revitalization Corp.
Planning and Econ. Dev.
Planning, Office of
Police Department
Property Management
Public Advocate
Public Libraries
Public Schools
Public Service Commission
Public Works
Regional Mobility Panel
Sports and Entertainment Com.
Taxi Commission
Telephone Directory
University of DC
Water and Sewer Administration
Youth Rehabilitation Services
Zoning Commission

Issues in DC Politics

Budget issues
DC Flag
DC General, PBC
Gun issues
Health issues
Housing initiatives
Mayor’s mansion
Public Benefit Corporation
Regional Mobility
Reservation 13
Tax Rev Comm
Term limits repeal
Voting rights, statehood
Williams’s Fundraising Scandals

Links

Organizations
Appleseed Center
Cardozo Shaw Neigh.Assoc.
Committee of 100
Fed of Citizens Assocs
League of Women Voters
Parents United
Shaw Coalition

Photos

Search

What Is DCWatch?

themail archives

ANTHONY A. WILLIAMS
MAYOR

April 23, 2001

The Honorable Linda W. Cropp
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
441 4th Street, NW, Suite 704
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Chairman Cropp:

Enclosed is the finalized contract (and CFO Certification) with Greater Southeast Community Hospital to establish the DC Healthcare Alliance. The Greater Southeast Community Hospital proposal was selected as the superior option presented through an open RFP process that was implemented under the direction of the PBC Collaborative. The contract is the culmination of a negotiation that involved representatives of the Council, Mayor, District CFO, and the Financial Authority.

I believe that the plan embodied in this contract presents the District with an unprecedented opportunity to create a health care safety net that will truly serve our residents effectively. Under the DC Alliance the District will finely be able to significantly reduce the city's unacceptable level of poor health. Every day that we delay this transition is costing the District valuable resources that could be better used in improving our health status.

Therefore, pursuant to Alice Rivlin's April 18, 2001 letter establishing the timeframes for implementing the contract, I urge you to support the enclosed contract.

Sincerely,
Anthony A. Williams

AAW/jp

Enclosure (2)

Back to top of page

District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority
441 4th Street, N.W. - Room 570 - Washington, DC 20001 (202) 504-3400
Washington, D.C.

April 18, 2001

Dear Mayor Williams:

The District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority ("the Authority") has transmitted to your office the proposed contract for health care services for uninsured District residents for your consideration and for your transmittal to the Council of the District of Columbia for action. It is essential that this proposed contract and the enabling legislation are approved before May 1, 2001.

The Authority formally agreed in principle to the proposed contract with Greater Southeast Community Hospital Corporation on April 11, 2001. The proposed contract assumes implementation will begin upon execution by May 1, 2001, and therefore, failure to do so will entail unacceptable financial and other risks. Any delay in executing the contract, which is the next phase of the restructuring process, will unacceptably deplete resources necessary to manage the transition as planned under the proposed contract. For example, any delay will risk depleting resources required to fully fund future placements for the participants in the resident training program. Similarly, resources that may be allocated for continued operations of the hospital and for assistance to eligible displaced employees may not be available if there is any delay.

Sincerely,
Alice M. Rivlin
Chairman

Back to top of page

District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority
441 4th Street, N.W., Room 570 - Washington, DC 20001 - (202) 504-3400
Washington, D.C.

April 13, 2001

Dear Mr. Mayor:

In order to maintain funding for the District of Columbia's publicly funded health care system pursuant to Public Law 106-522, the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority ("Authority") hereby transmits to the Office of the Mayor the contract developed pursuant to the proposal in response to Solicitation No. DCFRA #00-R-039 for your consideration, and for your transmittal to the Council of the District of Columbia for action.

Pursuant to Public Law 106-522, the Mayor, the District of Columbia Council ("the Council"), the Board of Directors of the Health and Hospitals Public Benefit Corporation ("PBC") and the Authority agreed to a plan to restructure health care services provided by the PBC by contracting with a private health care provider on December 17, 2000. Acknowledging actions by the District of Columbia Subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the Chairman of the Council and the Office of the Mayor agreed that the Authority would use its procurement power under Public Law 104-8 to solicit private bids from qualified providers.

The Authority issued the public solicitation on December 17, 2000. The unanimous decision to select Greater Southeast Community Hospital Corporation ("GSCH") as a prime contractor followed separate "technical" and "price" evaluations by two teams, including representatives of the Mayor, the Council and the Authority, on March 14, 2001. This process was the predicate for the selection of a contractor to provide comprehensive, integrated and coordinated health care services to uninsured residents of the District of Columbia. The Authority formally agreed in principle to the proposed contract with GSCH on April 11, 2001.

The proposed contract is for an initial 5-year term with two 2-year option periods. It includes an average increase in service volume of thirty-four percent (34%) over the current PBC level of health care services and administration, at a base cost of $60,250,949 with an upper limit of $66,276,043. Other major contract costs include $7,010,522 for the school health program, $3,715,858 for corrections, $1,399,525 for trauma, $1,500,000 for program start-up, and $11,800,000 for one-time capital costs.

• services for District residents without health insurance whose family income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level;
• a network comprised of three hospitals (inpatient, trauma care, specialties) and two Medicaid HMOs (providing administrative services for the network, management for existing public clinics and access to other providers) as well as other practitioners for diagnostic and specialty care;
• a requirement that the contractor and subcontractors maintain their current level of services to uninsured District residents as a condition of receiving compensation through the proposed contract;
• a plan to monitor and evaluate the cultural appropriateness of outreach and health care programs and
• a requirement to provide monthly, quarterly, and annual reports on volume, utilization, quality and costs.

The proposed contract also includes significant protections for District taxpayers, including requirements that: 

• the contractor maintain a performance bond;
• payments are made only for services that have been provided based on the submission of claims for patient or administrative services performed under the contract;
• funds allocated by the District for this contract will not be transferred to the prime contractor but will instead be held, pending submission of a claim for reimbursement for services, by a third party disbursement agent and 
• the District retain the right to assign any part of the contract to another provider if any party to the proposed agreement fails to perform.

It is the Authority's very strongly held view that this proposed contract will help reform the public health care system in a manner that serves District residents. It will also provide policy-makers with the right tools to manage this major new initiative while continuing their long-term plans to improve access to health insurance coverage for residents. Following many months of sometimes difficult but ultimately fruitful joint effort, local elected officials now have an opportunity to ratify this important new step in health care reform. The Authority, therefore, anticipates expeditious consideration of this important matter by your office and the Council:

Enclosures

Back to top of page

Government of The District Of Columbia
Office of the Chief Financial Officer

April 17, 2001

The Honorable Anthony Williams
Mayor of the District of Columbia
One Judiciary Square
441 4th Street, NW-Suite 1 100S
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Mayor Williams:

Pursuant to Section 302(c)(14) of Public Law 104-8, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) is required to certify all contracts as to the availability of funds to meet the obligations expected to be incurred by the District government. This letter provides that certification as to the availability of funds in the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 and all of FY 2002 for the "Agreement Between the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority and Greater Southeast Community Hospital Corporation" (Agreement).

Based on the financial information received from the Authority, noted and analyzed below, it is my opinion that there are sufficient funds available in the remainder of FY 2001 and all of FY 2002 to meet the obligations expected to be incurred by the District government under this Agreement upon its execution and subsequent assignment to the District. In addition, the costs to be incurred in this Agreement are consistent with the Financial Plan for FY 2003 through 2006.

A. The Agreement

As you know, this Agreement was negotiated by the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (Authority) with the Greater Southeast Community Hospital Corporation (GSCH) over a course of approximately two (2) months and is a contract between the Authority and GSCH. In summary, the Agreement is to provide healthcare services to the uninsured population of the District of Columbia through the "Washington Alliance for Community Healthcare" (DC-WACH), which is made up of GSCH, D.C. Chartered Health Plan, Unity Health Care, Children's National Medical Center and The George Washington University Hospital.

The Agreement is for an initial term of five (5) years, from May 1, 2001 through April 30, 2006, and can be renewed for two (2) additional two (2) year terms. It is anticipated that prior to the Authority's suspension of its activities on September 30, 2001, the Authority will assign all its rights and responsibilities under the Agreement to the District.

In order to certify that there are funds available to meet the obligations expected to be incurred by the District under the Agreement, the OCFO requested the Authority to provide a copy of the draft Agreement and the financial information underlying the Agreement. The OCFO received the financial information on April 11,2001 and a copy of the unexecuted final Agreement on April 13, 2001. The OCFO's certification of availability of funds to undertake this Agreement is based entirely on the financial information provided by the Authority between April 11 through April 13 (and attached hereto as Attachment A) and the unexecuted Agreement (attached hereto as Attachment B).

B. Agreement Costs and Availability of Funds

As of April 17, 2001, the total FY 2001 cost associated with the transition of the District's publicly financed health care safety net systems was estimated at $104,044,139, in addition to fiends currently allocated to these activities in FY 2001. Of this total amount, an estimated $23.6 million will be needed to implement this Agreement. The balance, approximately $80.4 million, is comprised of FY 2001 costs incurred to phase out operations of the Public Benefit Corporation and otherwise restructure the operations of the Department of Health and other agencies consistent with the restructuring. 

This cost estimate was made by the staff of the Authority, in consultation with affected District agencies, other officials engaged in the health care restructuring effort and in consultation with the OCFO. Amounts to be paid during FY 2001 in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement are entirely consistent with the current cost.

On January 30, 2001, the Mayor, the Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia and the Chair of the Authority notified both House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees of the District's intent to use $90 million from the District's $150 million budgeted reserve to meet the unanticipated, one-time or non-recurring costs associated with health care restructuring. These funds are now available to the District to apply to the contract and other costs noted above. The amount so far certified by the Authority from the District's FY 2001 budget reserve is sufficient to meet all FY 2001 costs associated with this Agreement.

To fund fully all FY 2001 transition costs based on the most recent cost estimate, an additional $14 million beyond the $90 million so far received will be needed.

It is the OCFO's understanding that the Authority will notify the appropriate committees of Congress of the District's intent to take this additional amount from the budget reserve for this purpose.

For FY 2002, the amounts to be paid stipulated in the Agreement are entirely consistent with the current cost estimate developed under the leadership of the Authority. These amounts have been included in the FY 2002 budget submitted by the Mayor to the Council of the District of Columbia. Assuming this budget is enacted as submitted with respect to health care restructuring, funds will be available in FY 2002 to cover the costs of this Agreement.

The District has also presented in its FY 2002 budget a financial plan for Fiscal Years 2003 through 2005. In so doing, the costs of this Agreement have been included in the Financial Plan based on the estimated change in the consumer price index (CPI) for those years. The Agreement assumes that costs will increase with the medical consumer price index, which may be higher than the overall CPI. However, the District will have the opportunity to fine tune its fiscal year costs for the Agreement with the submission of each fiscal year's budget. This holds true for FY 2006 as well, the last year of the Agreement, other than the option years.

C. Conclusion

Based on the financial information received from the Authority, noted and analyzed above, it is my opinion that there are sufficient funds available in the remainder of FY 2001 and all of FY 2002 to meet the obligations expected to be incurred by the District government under this Agreement upon its execution and subsequent assignment to the District. In addition, the costs to be incurred in this Agreement are consistent with the Financial Plan for FY 2003 through 2006.

cc: The Honorable Linda W. Cropp, Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia
Alice M. Rivlin, Chair, District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Authority
John A. Koskinen, Deputy Mayor/City Administrator

Enclosures