What's next crisis at Health, Human Services?
Published February 20, 2014
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, February 19, 2014.
The Great North Carolina Food Stamp Crisis has ended - or so it appears. Low-income residents are getting the help they need to buy food. And the state's NC FAST computer system, which processes applications, may be working.
We'll join food-stamp recipients, county social-service agencies and Gov. Pat McCrory in hoping that the mess is behind us for good.
But we can't stop wondering why it happened at all. It was a needless crisis, one chapter of a thick book of emergencies at the state Department of Health and Human Services.
The NC FAST system was troubled almost from the start. A software problem last summer caused computers to crash and applicants were forced to wait for weeks that stretched into months for food-stamp authorizations. They had to rely on nonprofit food banks, which were hard-pressed to keep up with demand.
Although state officials said in October that computer problems were solved, application backlogs grew once again as county social-services agencies struggled to keep up with new applications and eligibility guidelines. By the time backlogs stretched to 90 days or more, the U.S. Department of Agriculture threatened to revoke $88 million in funding for the food-stamp program. State workers were sent to the counties to help bring the applications up to date. The funding cutoff was averted. But there's no guarantee it won't return.
NC FAST was one of two new computer systems brought online last year by the department. The other, NC Tracks, manages Medicaid payments. It's an even-bigger disaster. Doctors and hospitals still aren't getting routine reimbursements and a group of health-care providers has filed a class-action suit against the state.
It's clear - as it has been from the outset - that those computer systems went online before they were ready. It was a bad decision in a department that's had a slew of them. Health and Human Services Secretary Aldona Wos has presided over a chaotic series of events that include the computer crises, cronyism and an upper-management revolving door.
Yet Gov. McCrory continues to defend her, most recently blaming the counties for the food-stamp backup, saying "Secretary Wos has fallen on her sword for the 100 counties."
In reality, the governor keeps falling on his sword for Secretary Wos. Maybe it's time for him to change course and try accountability instead.
