R.I. lawmakers told benefits backlog still in the thousands

Feb. 09--PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- More than 4,000 requests for public assistance in Rhode Island were not processed in time at the end of last month, state human services officials reported Thursday, as efforts to fix the technology continue to move slowly with no definitive end in sight.

The overdue application backlog for benefits -- such as health insurance, welfare and food assistance -- stood at 4,011, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services told state lawmakers, 303 applications fewer than the last snapshot they provided last November.

Around half of the overdue applications last month were for long-term elder care.

"We know we are not where we need to be," Health and Human Services Secretary Eric Beane told the House Oversight Committee Thursday in the latest hearing on the state's efforts to fix the faulty computer system.

But as various members of Gov. Gina Raimondo's administration have said since the system originally known as UHIP launched in the fall of 2016, Beane said progress is being made.

As an example, he said more than 80 percent of applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, better known as Food Stamps, are now being completed on time, compared with more than 50 percent in November.

Even with that improvement, the state remains well short of the 96 percent on-time goal for critical emergency applications it agreed to as part of a court-approved settlement over an American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island lawsuit.

After being launched against the recommendations of federal regulators, the computer system developed by contractor Deloitte has been beset by technical problems, resulting in long waits for services and faulty benefit determinations based on inaccurate data.

The state has blamed Deloitte for the problems and is again in negotiations with the company over how much it will pay for continuing work, which Beane said is expected to cost $491 million when complete. (The federal government is picking up around 80 percent of that tab.)

When that completion will happen is still anyone's guess.

Pressed by at least three lawmakers on when UHIP will be "done," Beane said that would only be when a series of "performance measures" with the system are met. He didn't say what those performance goals are.

The state is currently refusing to pay Deloitte until UHIP is fully functional and Beane said he didn't want to set an end date or weaken the state's negotiating position by laying out a finish line.

The current agreement between the two sides runs through June, when some major software updates are due. Beane said negotiations are underway on payments for work after that time, which he said would likely last until at least February 2019.

"If it is still broken, I am not letting [Deloitte] off the hook," Beane said.

UHIP was supposed to save the state money by more rapidly purging ineligible residents from benefit rolls using fewer state workers.

The Raimondo administration initially reduced the number of social services employees when the computer launched, but has since had to restore that staffing due to the technical problems.

Department of Human Services Director Courtney Hawkins said Thursday that there were no plans to reduce staff even when UHIP is working, but to rather focus on improving service.

In addition to the lawsuit over delayed food stamp applications, the ACLU also sued the state over terminating Medicaid insurance coverage without advance warning.

-- panderson@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7384

On Twitter: @PatrickAnderso_

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