UHIP software update postponed to June

PROVIDENCE — A software upgrade for the Unified Health Infrastructure Project planned for May 19 has been postponed until June “to ensure a quality upgrade,” after which Deming Sherman, special master assigned to ensure the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program meets federal guidelines, expects the system will be able to speedily handle 96 percent of claims as required.

Ashley O’Shea, communications director at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, confirmed on Friday the upgrade would be delayed another month.

Sherman said the SNAP program has accomplished timely processing, meaning within either a week for regular requests or a month for emergency requests, of 90 percent of food assistance claims. Those reports were part of records filed with the state in May. The federal government requires the program to process 96 percent of claims within those limits, he said.

The software upgrade originally scheduled for May 19 will get the system to its 96 percent goal, Sherman said. But first it needs to be tested, both from a technology perspective and then with the Department of Human Services workers who will be using the system.

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“You have to feed data into it to make sure it’s processing data correctly,” Sherman said.

During recent testing, there were still some technical glitches, Sherman said, and the department followed his advice to delay the upgrade until those glitches could be worked out.

“I urged caution,” Sherman said.

When he was appointed special master, his goal was to improve the SNAP program so it would meet the 96 percent of claims processed in a timely fashion standard.

“I’m still optimistic that we can,” Sherman said.

The UHIP project cost $491.7 million. On April 3, John Raymond, chief financial officer at the R.I. Department of Human Services, informed the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service that it has spent $82,317 on computer upgrades for SNAP staff and added support services for the Business Processing Project to the Providence SNAP re-certification unit.

The state had agreed to invest $152,215.39 into the program as part of a January 2014 settlement with the FNS. Raymond advised the U.S. Agriculture Department to invoice the state for the balance, $69,898.39.

Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU’s Rhode Island affiliate, which filed a class action suit against the state that resulted in Sherman’s appointment, expressed mixed feelings on the delay.

“While there clearly has been progress in reducing the SNAP backlog, the delay in launching a major UHIP upgrade that had been promised for months is very disappointing. In light of UHIP’s disastrous roll-out, officials are making the right call in not prematurely launching this upgrade, but this latest delay seems emblematic of the continued difficulties in fixing this deeply flawed system,” Brown said.

Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowksi@PBN.com.