Ky sets up war room to ease benefind crunch

• Anyone seeking help with a benefit problem should call the state ombudman's office at 800-372-2973.

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Seeking to resolve widespread problems with a new public benefit system, state officials have created a "tactical operations center" under the command of a former U.S. Army major aimed at improving the flow of aid such as Medicaid or food stamps to needy Kentuckians.

"At the end of the day, we are here to serve those clients," said Vickie Yates Glisson, secretary of the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. "I feel like we're definitely getting a handle on it."

Launched Feb. 29, the computer system known as benefind – meant to be a one-stop shop for public benefits – instead triggered massive disruption. Thousands of letters went out in error telling people their benefits had been canceled or demanding information that clients already had provided, such as proof of income or citizenship.

Many reported the loss of benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) or health coverage through Medicaid.

Local state benefit offices have been jammed with people and phone lines overwhelmed as thousands of Kentuckians sought help.

On Thursday cabinet officials showed off the temporary center established in Frankfort where nearly 100 state workers – many who volunteered to come from distant counties – work eight hours a day at computers processing cases and entering information to speed up the claims system.

Some willing to do so work overtime.

Among those visiting Thursday was Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, who appeared on behalf of Gov. Matt Bevin, who is out of the country on an economic development trip.

"I truly appreciate you guys coming here from your home counties to address this backlog," she told the roomful of workers. "If (Bevin) were here, he would thank you from the bottom of his heart."

Health advocates say they are beginning to see some improvements with access to benefits.

"Some of it's getting better, but there's still a lot of work to do," said Emily Beauregard, executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health, a coalition of health advocacy groups.

Beauregard said her organization remains concerned about Bevin's plan to dismantle kynect, the state health exchange where people shop for health coverage or enroll in Medicaid. The governor by the end of this year plans to shift people seeking private health plans to the federal exchange; people would use benefind to enroll in Medicaid.

"I'm concerned we won't be ready for the transition this year," Beauregard said.

As for the current problems, some people wrongly cut off from benefits said they are seeing improvements.

Corey Nett, a Louisville man featured April 1 in the Courier-Journal, did get Medicaid funds restored that pay for attendants to help with daily needs and communication, said his aide, Joanna Hatch. Nett has cerebral palsy and is eligible for a Medicaid program to help people with disabilities.

But she said Nett is still trying to get Medicaid benefits reinstated that help pay the costs of his health care.

"It's very complicated," Hatch said. "He's still not getting everything he should."

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Officials said they are working to resolve all such cases and believe the temporary work center in Frankfort should help.

Brandon Carlson, the retired Army major now employed by the cabinet as project manager, said he established the center based on his military experience.

"I modeled this after tactical operations in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Carlson, who was deployed in both countries.

Carlson said the goal this week is to successfully process 10,500 cases. By early Thursday, the workers already had completed work on about 8,750, he said. He said he expects the center to be open through the end of next week to get caught up.

About 1.3 million people in Kentucky get health coverage through Medicaid, and many of those get other benefits, such as food stamps.

The workers at the center don't deal directly with clients. Their job is to process cases as quickly and efficiently as possible through the benefind system, freeing up others in offices to help clients who call or visit in person.

All workers volunteered for the assignment. Some commute from their home counties and others who live farther away are being put up at hotels in Frankfort.

Several employees who spoke with a reporter Thursday said they enjoy the work and are learning more about benefind through staff provided by Deloitte Consulting, the company that designed the $101 million public benefit system under contract to the state.

Julie Enzweiler, from Kenton County, said the system was extremely frustrating for workers when it launched. State workers couldn't process claims or resolve problems for clients because of questions about the system or breakdowns or errors in benefind.

"We couldn't help them," she said. "It was terrible."

But after improvements by Deloitte and aid from technology people at the Frankfort center, claims are flowing more smoothly, she said.

"Things are cracking now," Enzweiler said. "It's going so much easier."

Officials hope that translates into improvements statewide with the new benefit system.

Adria Johnson, the cabinet's commissioner of the Department for Community Based Services, which oversees public benefits, said crowds have eased at local benefit offices and the state has reduced telephone wait times that had left frustrated clients on hold for hours or repeatedly reaching a recording advising them to call another time.

The average wait time for help by telephone is now 30 minutes, Johnson said.

"We're noticing a huge improvement," she said. "People are getting through."

Calls to the cabinet's ombudsman's office in Frankfort, where many people call for help, were reaching as many as 900 per day. Now about 200 people are calling per day, said Tim Feeley, the cabinet's deputy secretary.

Glisson, the secretary, said the cabinet is trying to provide a 24-hour response to anyone who calls the ombudsman's office.

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Anyone who reports the actual loss of benefits such as Medicaid or food stamps is flagged for faster service from a "rapid response team," Glisson said.

The cabinet has taken additional steps to try to limit problems, including temporarily extending Medicaid benefits to people who otherwise would be due for annual re-certification, said Stephen Miller, state Medicaid commissioner.

Miller said he personally had contacted some clients trying to resolve their Medicaid problems. And he said the cabinet has stopped the computer-generated flood of notices, many in error, to clients about their benefits.

"They're no longer getting the letters," Miller said.

Contact reporter Deborah Yetter at (502)582-4228 or at dyetter@courier-journal.com.

HOW TO GET HELP

Anyone seeking help with a benefit problem should call the state ombudman's office at 800-372-2973.