Ohio moves forward with designing new Medicaid eligibility system

State officials announced this week the awarding of a $19 million, three-year contract with Deloitte Consulting to redesign the process for determining Medicaid eligibility in Ohio (Source: “Ohio moves to replace benefit system,” Marion Star, Aug. 8, 2013).

Ohio’s current eligibility system, known as CRIS-E, was launched more than 30 years ago. The state estimates that 60 percent of CRIS-E’s eligibility determinations for Medicaid are inaccurate and must be manually overridden to prevent eligible applicants from being denied coverage or to remove those who weren’t eligible from receiving benefits.

The new system is expected to enable those eligible for Medicaid to apply online or with a mobile device rather than having to go to through county offices. The program  also will include eligibility processing for food and cash assistance and other services.

The federal government is expected to pick up most of that cost, with the state paying less than $2 million.