Raimondo Reaches $50M Settlement With UHIP Developers

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state has reached a settlement with developer Deloitte following months of negotiations, Governor Gina Raimondo announced on Friday. As part of the deal, the company will remain contracted with the state through 2021 and will pay the state $50 million.

The developer has been under fire since the disastrous roll out of the Unified Health Infrastructure Project, or UHIP, in 2016, which manages state benefits such as medicaid and food assistance, leading to hours-long lines and delayed benefits.

As a part of the agreement, Gov. Raimondo said the state will receive more than $210 million in total in payments and discounted services over the life of the contract, and will only pay for operations and maintenance costs going forward.

"This is an unprecedented settlement," Gov. Raimondo said at a press conference Friday afternoon. "We're not there yet, and in some ways we'll never be done."

The UHIP system combines 16 state benefits into one online portal, which the governor says is one of the most complex systems of its kind in the country. At this time, Department of Human Services Director Courtney Hawkins says that the service is running more successfully than it ever has.

"We want people to know that DHS can reliably get them the benefits they need through the system, and for the most part we've been doing that," Hawkins said.

Deming Sherman, the special master appointed by the courts to ensure that the state met SNAP standards, said that efficiency goals are being met.

"The state and its vendor, Deloitte, are making very good progress. For the past several months, the Department of Human Services has met the SNAP 96 percent timeliness standard required by the consent agreement," Sherman said. "In addition, the customer portal now works well for new applications, and wait times at the call center and in the lobbies remain low. This is evidence that both the technology and the DHS staff are working well together, and I am optimistic that this will continue."

Gov. Raimondo said she chose to stay with Deloitte, despite the countless issues because she felt it was the best choice for Rhode Island taxpayers.

"The approach I've taken wasn't necessarily the one that felt the best, but it was what I thought would be best for the people of Rhode Island," she said. "It may feel good in the moment to sue someone, but then you find yourself in a long legal battle."

Gov. Raimondo added that the state considered changing vendors, but realized doing so would cause too much of a service disruption for UHIP users.

The settlement will be used to fund the costs of operating the UHIP system.

"It's an expensive system, and the funds will be used to help defray the ongoing costs of operation and benefits," Gov. Raimondo said, adding that there are no conditions attached to the $50 million payment.

Despite the numerous issues the system has faced so far, the governor said she is far more confident in Deloitte now than when UHIP was launched. In hindsight, she said the information they had at the time was inaccurate.

"The system wasn't ready to go live when we hit the button. I relied on technologists who got it wrong," Gov. Raimondo said.

Looking forward, Gov. Raimondo believes the Deloitte has made significant improvements, with new agreed-upon standards that are some of the best in the country.