Y2K was a Breeze Compared to State IT Prep for ObamaCare
This week I listened in on a webinar sponsored by HHS. This was a day-long session where a number of people spoke about the implementation of PPACA and some of the barriers that need to be addressed in order for the regulations to be fully implemented. One key area that I did not give much thought to prior to hearing this webinar was the state’s ability to implement the required healthcare exchanges with its current IT infrastructure. We all know how challenging it is in the private sector to implement a major strategy shift within our own business and the need to line up the appropriate IT resources and structure to handle the changes. Multiply this exponentially when the public sector is involved. Some of the speakers were from states that are responsible for IT. All agreed that most states will need tremendous resources (people and money) to get their systems up to speed to handle insurance exchanges.
I remember back to the times when the state and federal governments required a substantial amount of additional funding just to get computer systems to be Y2K compliant. Think back to that time and remember how many consultants, new IT infrastructure and dollars were required by each state and federal agency to get their systems to recognize the year 2000 correctly.
Now fast forward to where we are today and each state will have to create a system that will be able to handle enrollment, family change status, billing, online tools, customer service, etc. This is to be done within the next three years. Oh yeah, we still don’t know what the final regulations look like. I thought getting through Y2K was a challenge. States…get ready.