Glitches dump 6,200 MinnesotaCare enrollees; review launched

Jan. 15----Almost 6,200 MinnesotaCare enrollees got cancellation notices despite filing renewal paperwork on time.

--Nearly half of cancellations due to a backlog; rest caused by a computer glitch.

--Latest in a string of technical issues Department of Human Services has suffered in recent years.

--To deal with backlog, state automatically extended all 6,180 cases for January.

--Under fire from critics, DHS has launched "entire process" review of its public health programs.

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Ryan O'Hara did everything right when notified he needed to renew his MinnesotaCare health insurance.

The West St. Paul man methodically gathered his pay stubs and other vital information and then mailed it back to the Department of Human Services on time.

A few days later, he got a letter informing him his health coverage had been cancelled.

O'Hara's story isn't unique. Almost 6,200 other Minnesotans similarly sent in their MinnesotaCare paperwork last month but got a rejection notice anyway.

"We had a number of individuals who were confused because they sent us the information we requested but still got a closing notice," said Chuck Johnson, the deputy DHS commissioner.

MinnesotaCare is the state-run program for people earning between 133 and 200 percent of the federal poverty line -- a maximum of $23,540 annually for an individual or $40,180 for a family of four. It provides subsidized health insurance, managed by private insurers under a state contract.

After realizing the error, the Department of Human Services decided to extend all 6,180 MinnesotaCare enrollees for the month of January, to give time to work out the problems.

That meant customers such as O'Hara were still covered in case of a medical emergency. But for a frantic, worrisome week or two, they thought they might have lost their health insurance.

O'Hara said the cost to him from the mixup was "the time waste and the emotional drain and the worry and concern about interruption in health coverage for my wife and I."

He ultimately got his health care sorted out, but only after visiting the department's main office in St. Paul on two separate occasions.

CONTINUING PROBLEMS

Statewide, around 90,000 MinnesotaCare customers were up for renewal at the end of December. Of those, about 2,380 cases didn't get their paperwork processed in time because of a backlog at DHS -- so the department's computer system automatically sent out the cancellation letters. Additionally, some 3,800 weren't processed because of a technical glitch in the software that handles MinnesotaCare renewals.

These are just the latest problems for the MinnesotaCare software, part of the same suite that also handles the MNsure insurance exchange. It's had a number of issues, including an error that stopped the state from sending out bills to MinnesotaCare enrollees for months.

Though the state has been working to fix these glitches, some critics say the best approach would be to give up and start over.

"It's time to admit we should stop throwing good money after bad. There's so many bugs and workarounds and holes in the system," said Rep. Matt Dean, a Dellwood Republican who chairs the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee.

Johnson, the deputy DHS commissioner, acknowledged that the department's software has had repeated issues that have hurt Minnesotans.

"We're as frustrated as Rep. Dean is with where we sit right now," he said. "We're concerned about continuing to put our consumers in a real difficult position of not knowing whether they'll be covered or not covered in a particular month."

PROCESS REVIEWED

Johnson said DHS has launched a review of the "entire process" of Minnesota's public health care programs "to make sure we're fixing the problems we have."

Among those problems? A loss of trust in the department among Minnesota citizens who rely on programs such as MinnesotaCare.

"The only way I will ever interact with MinnesotaCare again is in person," said O'Hara. He likes his health coverage but no longer trusts the "administrative support" system.

"There's no way to get through on the phone. The mail doesn't seem to work. So I've got to literally walk things in," he adds.

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