Today, the Commissioner and I are meeting with SNAP Western Region Administrators. Naturally, the SNAP sanction and backlog will be a point of discussion. The work that has been done and done so well over the last couple of weeks is going to make that a much easier conversation. Elaine Rich, our Chief of Program Integrity, recently noted that “an amazing amount of work is being done in the field! DPA is processing many more applications than just the original SNAP backlog.

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DPA! DPA! DPA Rocks! Last week saw an almost 6% drop in the overall backlog, the best too date. Despite the ongoing work to register the outstanding FFM and SSP applications, the rate of processing backlogged MAGI-Medicaid applications kept backlog growth to a minimum. Outstanding work has been done on the SNAP backlog with very good progress across the board.

Naturally, we are also having a bit of rain on our parade. Due to federally-facilitated marketplace defects many accounts simply were not transferred to states. The FFM also didn’t transmit accounts for some applicants who requested full eligibility determinations by the state after they were determined eligible for a Qualified Health Plan (QHP). Lastly, about 53,000 duplicate accounts were transferred to states. The short story is we can expect about another 815 FFM transfers, some which may go back to August of 2014. Fortunately the defects have been isolated and the last of them will be addressed by late summer.

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Just a short note and a big HURRAH this week with excellent progress made on addressing our SNAP backlog! Last week also saw drops in the backlog across all programs with the exception of Medicaid. A spike in Medicaid backlog was anticipated as more effort went into the registration of FFM accounts and SSP applications. While it resulted in a big rise in the Medicaid backlog, the great effort made across all programs kept growth in the total backlog down. Thank you all for keeping the pedal to the metal!

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Another week with the backlog going in the right direction! Last week there were reductions in the backlog for virtually every program, except Medicaid. However, with the effort underway to get FFM and SSP requests registered, some jump in the MAGI Medicaid backlog is to be expected. In April over 20,000 case determinations were completed. What an effort and what a team!

The goal of clearing the backlog before the implementation of Medicaid Expansion remains a significant challenge but I believe it is an achievable goal, so I have to ask everyone to stick with it. It has been a cross-country race with much of it uphill for the last few months. We are approaching the final laps and it will take a hard push for the next couple of months to get us across the line, but you have shown the colors of champions who will not flag or fail in the effort, despite the obstacles.

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This is Public Service Appreciation Week. Have no doubt; there is no employee in state government more worthy of the public’s appreciation than DPA. I talk to a clients or providers every day. Are many of them frustrated by late benefits or decisions and concerned about help for their family or patient? Certainly they are. But, the people I talk to are also typically very grateful for the help and compassion they receive from staff.

As grateful as our clients may be, no one appreciates someone in public service more than their co-worker. What a grand team we have in DPA. Catch someone doing a good thing and praise them (there are tons of opportunities to say thank you around us every day).

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