Disconnected From Opportunity In Florida
We've heard relentless complaints about the "Obamacare" website glitches from the Republican Party who have claimed the Affordable Care Act was doomed to failure from day one. Some, like the GOP, have argued this is a disaster, while others have said it's understandable when you start up a new website. Others have had no problems enrolling whatsoever.
But there's another brand new website that's having a little glitch problem too, and while Florida officials were forewarned of potential problems, they went ahead with it anyway. Today the warnings were proved right to an extent, but don't expect to hear similar outrage or complaints from Republicans about this one. Because this has nothing to do with helping people get the access to the "horrors" of health care.
Nope. This website was revamped by the State of Florida, and Rick Scott, and the people it will cause problems for are those seeking their unemployment benefits:
As promised, Florida's new unemployment benefits system -- Connect -- is up and operating today, Oct. 15.
But almost immediately, job seekers trying to file on the system said they were experienced [sic] problems. Several posted their complaints on Twitter and a Facebook page that Florida set up to respond to problems.
Last week, officials took down the old website, and it was dark for almost a week, preventing anyone from processing claims and causing benefit delays. Worse, Florida picked a company with a track record of problems installing similar computer systems in other states:
But even when that new system comes online, officials are warning of longer wait times and busier phone lines as Floridians adjust to the new "CONNECT" system. The $63 million computer system is being installed with the help of a company whose work has come under fire in other states.
The system put online in Massachusetts erroneously cut benefits to hundreds of jobless residents and required thousands of overtime hours by state employees to handle complaints about glitches. The project went so far off track that the state is considering firing Deloitte Consulting.
Monica Russell, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Economic Opportunity, insisted that Deloitte has "customized" the new system to meet the state's specific needs and that it has been "rigorously tested to help ensure its quality."
"Since February, numerous testers have been dedicated to this effort and we have been assured that the lessons learned from other states are being used to prevent similar issues from occurring in Florida," Russell wrote in an email in response to questions.
"Lesson learned" when it comes to unemployment benefits in Florida? Well, maybe if those lessons were about setting up barriers for those seeking benefits:
The state in 2011 began requiring that unemployed people file their claims online. This drew a complaint to the U.S. Department of Labor that it discriminated against people with disabilities and those who speak another language. The federal government said earlier this year that the online requirement appeared to be a violation of federal civil rights and nondiscrimination laws.
This time around, Scott and crew are being called out for not getting the word out. Imagine that? Scott is well known for his quickie "listening" tours or those like the recent "if you blinked, you missed it" voter purge info tour.
In spite of reports that claim otherwise, there are plenty of people who have successfully enrolled in Obamacare. What you probably won't hear much about, however, are the numbers of unemployed in Florida who aren't getting the benefits they rightfully deserve.
