An editorial in the Denver post on May 16 called attention to the weirdness of the way a solution to the CBMS fiasco is being pursued.
“Call us mystified by a report from The Denver Post's Allison Sherry that details a rejection by state officials and Colorado's Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) of a plan by several stressed county offices to use the Web-based application solutions.
"We were moving ahead in a manner that was prudent locally," Frank Alexander, who directs housing and human services in Boulder County, told Sherry. "We'd love to have a solution in place right now."
“Instead, state and HCPF officials are sticking with Deloitte Consulting, with whom they recently signed a four-year, $44 million contract to help rein in the state's expensive and clunky Colorado Benefits Management System”.
“Deloitte consultants say it will take them 12 to 18 months more to make enhancements counties want. But it wasn't until counties started asking for Web-based application solutions that officials added a $4.6 million amendment to that $44 million contract to create a Web-based application program”.
In her story of May 14, 2009, reporter Sherry Allison pointed out that in the meantime, “the current system takes 45 minutes to input information after an applicant has filled out a paper form. It requires people to come down to county offices and wait in line, or pick up applications and mail them in”.
In the same story, John Conley, deputy state chief information officer, said, "Our process has been viewed as lethargic, but I believe it's allowed us to be thoughtful."
Ah, yes. Thoughtful indeed.
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