With the failure of the R.I. Executive Office of Health and Human Services to file an appeal of a R.I. Superior Court ruling in a timely manner, the state could lose up to $24 million ($8 million per year over a period of three years). The failure was the result of an attorney in the EOHHS not making the filing after losing his privileges to practice law, something he did not tell his superiors. In addition, no one else at the department was aware of the deadline for the appeal filing, much less that the lawyer had been removed from the R.I. Suprem Court Master Rolls. All in all, it is at the very least an embarrassing episode for the Raimondo administration, especially when added to the ongoing UHIP controversy. While it is clear that someone should be held responsible, i.e., lose their job, over this mess, the question is, how high should the firings reach? Just the lawyer, who resigned before the state was able to fire him. The secretary of the EOHHS? The governor herself? What do you think?
