By Bryan Corbin, Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Although the governor of her own party did not want her to, state Rep. Suzanne Crouch has gone ahead with her plan to introduce a bill to halt temporarily the expansion of Indiana's new welfare eligibility program.
Crouch, a Republican from Evansville, last week filed House Bill 1691 to pause the administration's welfare modernization process from expanding to the 33 remaining counties it has not yet reached.
The Daniels administration in 2006 outsourced the eligibility process for Medicaid, food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF to a team of vendors led by IBM Corp. through a 10-year, $1.16 billion privatization contract.
Changes were intended to computerize paper records and allow clients to enroll for benefits online or by phone through a toll-free call center, while reducing fraud and waste.
The modernization program has been rolled out to 59 counties in stages, reaching Southwestern Indiana last May.
Since then, Crouch and other local legislators have been inundated with complaints from constituents and Evansville health care providers who say the new call center system loses critical documents, causes inordinate delays in enrolling patients, issues conflicting information and is hard for the elderly and disabled to navigate.
If passed, Crouch's bill would stop the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration from expanding the modernization to remaining counties until a committee of the Legislature reviews the rollout.
A Republican, Crouch repeatedly has said she supports the Daniels administration's modernization goals, but the sheer volume of complaints from constituents and hospitals indicates the system needs to be fixed before it's expanded further.
"The problem is we currently have systematic problems that need to be addressed; they need to be fixed," she said.
Deidra Conner, president of Evansville ARC and past president of the United Way Executives Council of Southwest Indiana, has heard many complaints from agencies that serve needy residents on Medicaid, food stamps or TANF.
"The issue has been a very difficult process for individuals who need access to the system, because it has gone from being a 'walk in the door, work with a case manager, talk to human being' process to a call center or a Web-based enrollment process. And for many people who need to enroll, they do not have a phone, a computer or ... they may not be computer-literate," Conner said.
"They need a human being to help them navigate the system; and without that, many people are falling through the cracks, having a difficult time accessing the system."
When Crouch introduced her bill, a powerful House Democrat, Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, signed on as co-author. If it passes in the House, Crouch's Republican colleague from Evansville, state Sen. Vaneta Becker, will be the bill's Senate sponsor.
Becker and Crouch have been outspoken for months about the welfare modernization problems.
After Gov. Mitch Daniels expressed his displeasure that two legislators of his own party would push legislation to pause one of his key initiatives, Becker and Crouch met with three members of the governor's staff the first week of January. They also met separately with new Family and Social Services Administration secretary Anne Murphy about their concerns, they said.
Crouch and Becker both said administration officials asked them not to introduce a bill and contended the customer-service problems could be fixed administratively, rather than legislatively. Crouch said she thought about it over a weekend but concluded she had to file a bill. "They certainly understand that we consider our first responsibility is representing our constituents," Crouch said last week.
"Our constituents, both of our hospitals, all of our United Way agencies, have been adamant to us to proceed with this piece of legislation," Becker added.
Daniels previously has said the two legislators' "hearts are in the right place," but his administration would not back down from its welfare system reforms.
On Friday, in reaction to the bill filing, Daniels said: "Well, I'm disappointed; but they have to make their own decisions. They are entitled to their opinion. We think they are in error, but my expectation is as we move forward and fix problems that are there, they'll feel differently - and over time this issue will resolve itself."
Although House Bill 1691 might gain support in the Democratic-controlled Indiana House, it faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled state Senate; and even if it passed there, Daniels would have the option of a veto.
Senate President pro tem David Long, who ultimately decides whether bills get anywhere in the Senate, was skeptical of the Legislature trying to impose a fix. "I'd be very concerned about us trying to start dictating. I really want to give these efforts a chance to evolve, and I think that requires patience; so that's our take on it right now. Let's not try to micromanage," Long, R-Fort Wayne, said. Long said such legislation would be a step back to the old welfare system, plagued by inefficiency, that the FSSA has worked hard to bring into the 21st century with technology.
But Becker countered that if legislators in other regions had received the volume of complaints she receives from people suffering hardship from being cut off from benefits, they would have a different impression.
Constituents complain not only about the FSSA call center and Web-application system, but also about the remaining FSSA county offices, where clients encounter very long lines and long waits for assistance, the legislators said. "They just have to show up; there may be 100 people there. They may not get waited on that day; they may have to take off from work again and come again to try to get their kids signed up for Hoosier Healthwise (a state health care program for low-income people). That is not an efficient way to do business," Becker said. "Anyone in the business world would tell you that."
For its part, the FSSA has not announced a rollout date for the next group of counties in northern Indiana. "FSSA continues to be in discussions with Rep. Crouch, Sen. Becker, and members of the General Assembly about the reform of Indiana's welfare system. As we've previously stated, FSSA is committed to 'do this right, not quickly,'" FSSA spokeswoman Lauren Auld said in a statement. "That means understanding and addressing the problems and challenges that have arisen and working with our clients, providers, advocates and other constituencies to develop solutions that will ensure eligible Hoosiers receive temporary assistance, health care, and food stamp benefits."
Since the rollout began, Crouch, Becker and other Evansville-area legislators have met regularly with local agencies that serve the needy and health care providers to gauge the level of problems with the new system. Another such meeting is set for 10 a.m. Friday at the Visiting Nurse's Association, 610 Walnut St., Evansville.
Conner, of the United Way, said she was "incredibly proud and pleased" that Crouch has taken on the issue. "It takes a lot of guts to say, 'We need to stop and look back and make sure we address the problems that are in the system,' especially if that is not a popular opinion at the Statehouse."
Democratic House Speaker Patrick Bauer, a persistent Daniels critic, usually has little enthusiasm for House Republican proposals; but he welcomed Crouch's bill. "We think it's a great bill, a great idea and we admire her courage," Bauer, D-South Bend, said Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.