It is November 1. State officials said this was going to be a big test for its new $364 million public-benefits computer system. They were right.
The Unified Health Infrastructure Project, or UHIP, which launched Sept 13, had immediate problems. Add to that, Tuesday was the beginning of open enrollment for HealthSource RI.
There were many aggravated people in the waiting room at around 10 a.m.
"I am seeing somebody today," Sandra Figueroa, of Providence, insisted after standing in line for more than 45 minutes.
Figueroa recently lost her job as a home care certified nursing assistant after her car broke down and she couldn't get to her clients.
She has three kids and a husband who makes minimum wage at a rehab center.
It costs her $3 each way to get to the office, and she said she has come every business day for the last three weeks.
She said most previous times, she has been sent away before getting to the window because they reached capacity — drop off only mode. She wants her food stamps increased because she lost her job.
But today, she said they were reduced from $204 to $99.
"What does that feed?" she said.
She told the woman at the window, who now had two other workers and Cindy Machado — chief human service policy and system specialist — next to her, "I will stay."
Said Machado, "You'll be waiting all day."
Replied Figueroa, "I don't care, I'll wait."
Machado later said the constant stream of people Tuesday is "typical," and she blamed it on "DHS issues," such as people needing additional paperwork, and "computer issues."
When asked which was better, the old system or UHIP, she immediately said, "No comment."
"I am frustrated along with the customers," she said.
At 12:41 p.m., Figueroa was still waiting.
On Tuesday afternoon, Governor Raimondo issued a statement acknowledging the possibility of longer wait times due in part to the beginning of open enrollment for HealthSource RI.
"Time is valuable and in short supply for many of our DHS customers," she said. "And all Rhode Islanders deserve high-quality, efficient customer service every day of the month. That's why my team has worked hard to prepare for a busier November in our field offices and over the phones. At DHS, we've extended hours at the Woonsocket and Providence field offices, improved the management of our office lobbies to better serve our customers, and put an escalation team in place to help customers in urgent need get services as quickly as possible. And at HSRI, we've added staff, phone lines and hours at our Contact Center throughout open enrollment.
"The first week of October came with some challenges, as our new health and human services eligibility system completed its first payment cycle for many programs. My team has also worked hard to prepare for any additional issues that may come up this month. If issues emerge, contingency plans are in place to resolve them quickly.
"I appreciate Rhode Islanders' patience during this time, and am committed to holding my team accountable for improving the services we provide to all of our customers as we continue to implement this new system."
©2016 The Providence Journal (Providence, R.I.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
