Ohio’s Medicaid consumer hotline struggles to keep up with increased demand

With calls to the state’s Medicaid hotline doubling in December as Medicaid eligibility expanded, the state struggled to handle the increased load (Source: “State Medicaid hotline can't keep up with consumer calls,” Newark Advocare, Jan. 19, 2014).

According to a monthly report from the state, the privately run call center — which is getting $9.2 million from the state and federal governments in additional funds to handle the increased workload  — failed to achieve its performance goals, missing badly in two metrics.

Ohio’s contract with Pittsburgh-based Automated Health Systems, which has the run the hotline since 2002, specifies callers should not have to wait more than two minutes, on average, to speak to a person and that fewer than 5 percent of callers per month should hang up while on hold, according to the contract.

In December, the average person had to wait three minutes, 30 seconds to talk to a customer service representative, or 75 percent longer than what the contract specifies. The rate of callers hanging up before getting through was 10 percent, double where it was supposed to be.