By Eric Bradner, Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Hours after Indiana's human services agency unveiled its new "hybrid" system of processing welfare applications, a panel of state lawmakers advanced legislation that could thwart those plans.
Legislation by Rep. Gail Riecken, D-Evansville, seeks to end the state's use of private companies to handle applications for Medicaid, food stamps and other welfare benefits, even though those contracts are to be a key part of the new hybrid system.
The House Ways and Means Committee endorsed the legislation Monday on party lines. All 14 Democrats present voted yes and all 10 Republicans voted no - an indication while the bill is likely to pass the Democratic-led House, it will almost certainly be ignored by the Republican Senate majority.
House Bill 1003 would prevent the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration from processing applications or making eligibility determinations for Hoosiers who apply for welfare benefits.
"I believe that our state government and our state employees can do a good job," Riecken said.
The vote came after more than five hours of testimony during which Anne Murphy, the secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration, was grilled by Democrats over her agency's decision to hire private companies in an attempt to modernize.
After more than a year of complaints over long delays and glitches, Murphy told Gov. Mitch Daniels in October that the state should cancel its contract with Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp., which was leading the 10-year, $1.34 billion modernization effort.
This week Murphy announced plans to try again, launching a hybrid system that will keep the technological advances of the abandoned system but will also incorporate the face-to-face assistance of the old paper-based system.
The new effort, which will be piloted in a swath of 10 Evansville-area Southwestern Indiana counties starting in January, involves restructuring contracts but keeping other private companies on board.
If Riecken's bill passes, it would send FSSA back to the drawing board. The agency would have to disengage from more than 20 contracts and hire state workers to do the jobs those companies had been assigned.
Riecken said Monday she is not convinced that firing IBM will solve the problems that existed in the modernization effort. With other companies still involved in the hybrid system, she said, "we have the potential for the same types of problems recurring."
In a recent interview with the Courier & Press, Murphy disagreed. She said since IBM is gone, it is important to keep the system stable and avoid major disruptions in service. Part of that, she said, is making sure those who are working on the project aren't afraid they'll lose their jobs.
"The problem was the design flaw, it wasn't the employees," she said. "We can fix the design and get the system working like it should without having to do these changes with employees."
The two Evansville lawmakers on the Ways and Means Committee split on whether to advance the bill.
Rep. Suzanne Crouch, a Republican, voted no, saying she preferred to give Murphy time.
"We've been told that the hybrid plan will take the best of the old and the new and if that happens, we should end up with a better system," she said.
Rep. Dennis Avery, a Democrat, voted yes. He said the bill provides "hope for the hopeless right now."