INDIANAPOLIS - The state welfare-modernization project that has been under fire since its implementation in May took center stage during a marathon hearing Monday at the Statehouse.
Lawmakers on the House Public Health committee heard more than two hours of testimony about problems with the welfare-eligibility system and considered two bills intended to fix it, during a hearing that was broadcast live on the Web.
One proposal authored by Rep. Suzanne Crouch, R-Evansville, House Bill 1691, temporarily would halt the welfare-modernization project from expanding to additional counties. The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration would not be able to roll out the program to 33 remaining counties it has not reached until the project is reviewed by a study committee of the Legislature.
"The (new) program is clearly not working where I live," Crouch told the House committee Monday.
Among the complaints: the FSSA call center in Marion, Ind., loses clients' critical documents and causes long delays in enrolling clients for benefits, and the phone- and Web-based application systems are hard for the elderly and disabled to navigate.
House Public Health chairman Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, who joined Crouch's bill as a co-author, appointed a subcommittee that will meet later this week to consider the two bills.
Another Evansville lawmaker, Sen. Vaneta Becker, a Republican, intends to sponsor Crouch's bill in the Senate if it passes the House.
Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels is opposed to the legislation. Although Crouch supports Daniels' goal of modernizing the welfare-eligibility system, she introduced her bill because of numerous complaints from her constituents when the new system was implemented in Vanderburgh County.
Testifying Monday on the bill was Tim Flesch, president and chief executive of St. Mary's Health System in Evansville. He said that while the FSSA has made some strides in the system's effectiveness, the time it still takes to enroll patients for Medicaid is a major issue.
"A month after the baby is born is a little late for prenatal care," Becker said of the delays.
Becker told the committee Monday that while she supports using technology to improve the welfare-eligibility system, it shouldn't be at the cost of putting the most-vulnerable Hoosiers at risk.
The Public Health committee also heard House Bill 1195, a bill to address one of the other complaints about the FSSA modernization project: When clients who need in-person assistance visit one of the remaining county welfare offices to apply for benefits, employees often refer them instead to the toll-free call center or Web-based application system. Authored by Rep. William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, that bill requires the county welfare offices to assist clients in person.
The welfare-modernization project is the result of a $1.16 billion contract the Daniels administration signed in 2006 with a consortium led by IBM Corp., in order to combat waste and fraud within the state's old welfare system. Changes such as computerizing paper records were intended to create convenience by allowing clients to enroll for benefits online or by phone. The new system has expanded to 59 counties in stages.
FSSA Secretary Anne Murphy, who has held her post for a month, defended the new system, but she conceded Evansville needed more staff to handle the city's needs.
"Vanderburgh County probably has a legitimate concern," she said.
Last month, Murphy came to Evansville to hear complaints about the system in person. During her visit, she promised to pause the rollout to the remaining counties until the system's problems are fixed and the backlog of applications is reduced - a point she reiterated Monday.
The bills will be considered again Thursday.