Lawmakers Accuse Hochul of Bid-rigging $11B Home Care Contract

New York legislators are intensifying their demands for accountability amid mounting evidence that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration may have improperly influenced the awarding of an $11 billion Medicaid home care services contract.

The controversy deepened after Public Partnerships, LLC (PPL), the company selected to oversee payroll operations for the state’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), admitted that earlier sworn testimony given to lawmakers was false. A company representative, Patty Byrnes, had previously testified that there had been no contact with state officials before the contract was finalized. However, in a subsequent letter to the State Senate, Byrnes acknowledged that her testimony “were not accurate.”

“There were general communications with DOH staff (of which I was unaware at the time I testified) in late March and early April when NY was considering the possibility of moving to a single FI program,” the PPL letter explained.

The revelation has heightened concerns that the contract process may have been improperly influenced.

“Something here stinks,” said State Sen. Steven Rhoads (R-Nassau). “These families deserve to know the substance of those communications; who was involved; whether they influenced the bid drafting and selection process and if so, whether anyone in the Hochul Administration or her donors benefited as a result. We want answers. And so should all New Yorkers.”

State Senate Investigations Committee Chair Jim Skoufis (D-Orange), who co-led a recent hearing with Health Committee Chair Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx), said the evolving testimony raised more concerns than it resolved.

“All these statements, all these amendments to testimony, all of these comments now, since the hearing only elicit more questions,” Skoufis said.

While PPL has been cooperating with the inquiry so far, Skoufis noted that subpoenas remain a possibility. Rivera, meanwhile, stressed that the flawed transition has already hurt both patients and workers.

“Senator Skoufis and I are clear that PPL’s handling of the transition has been unacceptable and they will be taken to task to ensure that New Yorkers receive reliable home care from workers who are paid appropriately,” Rivera said.

The controversy stems from sweeping changes to the CDPAP program, which reduced hundreds of payroll service providers, known as fiscal intermediaries, down to a single state-chosen company. The move has created widespread disruption, with many patients and aides experiencing payment delays and other administrative challenges.

During last month’s hearing, Health Commissioner Jim McDonald also testified that there had been no prior contact between his department and PPL before the formal procurement process.

“New York is a big state. You hear a lot in New York all the time,” McDonald remarked, rejecting suggestions of bid manipulation. “My team did an honest \[request for proposals] and an honest bid and did an honest evaluation. And they did a good job of this. We did what we were supposed to do.”

The Hochul administration has not directly addressed PPL’s admission. A spokesperson for the governor had previously stated, “The shift to a single fiscal intermediary went through a standard procurement process at DOH, following the law passed by the State Legislature – and no State officials knew who would be selected until the procurement process was complete.”

Meanwhile, a Department of Health spokesperson defended the commissioner, saying, “As Commissioner McDonald testified before Senate leaders, he was not aware of any communications between Department of Health staff and PPL that occurred prior to the procurement process.”

PPL has declined to issue further comments on the matter.

Lawmakers Accuse Hochul of Bid-rigging $11B Home Care Contract