Article on the ill-fated Maine Claims Management System (MECMS), which the Depar

Article on the ill-fated Maine Claims Management System (MECMS), which the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) discarded in late February. The billing crisis at MECMS has cost Maine taxpayers more than $47 million in operational costs and driven some healthcare professionals out of business. Sweetser, the Saco behavioral health organization, recently announced it would lay off 43 of its 1,200 employees and close six of its 24 residence homes in part due to MECMS billing problems. Sweetser says it is owed around $5 million from MaineCare. Other providers are now faced with sifting through claims paperwork dating back to 2005 to reconcile interim payments provided by the state. With comments by Kirsten Figueroa of DHHS, and Michael Stair of Elder Independence of Maine