Local News

There’s a strong push for counties across Colorado to take back processing some Medicaid applications from a private company that’s had a difficult time meeting time and quality guarantees.

More than 40 heads of county human services departments indicated they’d like their county commissioners to approve taking over processing Medicaid medical claims from Maximus, a private company contracted by the state, said Gini Pingenot, policy and research supervisor at Colorado Counties Inc. The group met during the Colorado Counties Inc. conference last week.

The company hired in 2010 to process Medicaid applications for Colorado counties is underperforming, and county governments, including Jeffco, could be taking over those duties.

Maximus, a private company that provides processing services to governments, had guaranteed it would process 95 percent of the applications correctly and in a timely manner. Yet it has fallen short of that mark, reporting in March a backlog of 53 percent of all Medicaid cases. 

A request for an interview with Maximus did not bring a response by press time. 

The Foothills Park and Recreation District has found a buyer for a piece of its open-space property on the northeast corner of South Wadsworth Boulevard and West Coal Mine Avenue. 

The district’s Board of Directors agreed May 27 to an $815,000 bid from developer Cornerstone Capital Investment Inc. for the 4.65 acres. The property had originally been listed for about $809,000, said Foothills Executive Director Ron Hopp.

Colorado native Jon Keyser says he's running for the House District 25 seat to help restore political balance to the state legislature. 

“We’re coming off of a couple of years of control by the same party,” he said. “There are no checks and balances.”

Keyser, a Morrison resident, said he would like to serve the state as a “citizen legislator” representing the interests and concerns of those in his district.