The New York firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips was already a state contractor. The Executive Council gave them a $1.7 million, no-bid contract in March 2014 to perform legal, policy and technical services to support Medicaid expansion — including negotiating with federal officials on Medicaid waivers.
Hassan and Meyers asked the firm in April 2016 to prepare a legal brief to CMS specifically defending these provider donations.
“The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services have expressed concern that provider taxes deposited in the Trust Fund, as authorized by the legislation, may not qualify as bona fide provider donations, and thus could not be used to draw down federal matching funds,” the Manatt firm wrote in its argument. *| More…
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