JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax has covered problems with the state website millions of Floridians depend on for benefits, and we are asking more tough questions.
Action News Jax Emily Turner questioned state leaders in this benefits battle over the portal that people use for things like food stamps and medical coverage.
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Medicaid is already a complicated system. And patients tell us its even more confusing because of the technical glitches we’ve been telling you about for a year.
People tell us they’ve been denied coverage because they couldn’t get documents into the system and now some who do have coverage can’t get their bills paid.
“It’s horrible. It’s horrible,” Angela Ken, a Jacksonville mom fighting to keep her son’s care, said. “He has had Medicaid since he was born because he’s special needs. And I knew something was wrong. I’m like, this can’t happen.”
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It’s a fight against Florida’s SNAP portal problems, and it’s one Jodie Martinez of Volusia County is also waging.
“It is very, very stressful. There are days that you just feel like you want to give up,” she said.
Martinez is battling cancer and said she shouldn’t have to fight the state of Florida too.
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“I’m starting to get bills now from bill collectors,” Martinez said.
Bills unpaid, coverage denied, questions unanswered.
Lynn Hearn, who is an attorney and the Advocacy Director of the Florida Health Justice Project, said she hears about issues like these daily.
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“This is a common, ongoing problem,” Hearn said.
Florida’s Medicaid program is supposed to help cover some of the expensive treatment costs. Instead, Martinez is getting calls from debt collectors.
For months, Martinez said she’s gone to access centers in person, tried repeatedly to upload her bills through the state’s website, and called the Florida Department of Children and Families again and again.
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When Martinez looks at her records in the MyAccess portal, it shows Medicaid should cover a share of her medical costs. But when providers look at their systems, they see something different.
Ken experienced something similar when the portal lost her documents and her son’s benefits were dropped.
“And I’m like, so my stuff isn’t right. I’m like, my stuff is right, I have saved, I know it’s right,” she said.
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Hearn helps people navigate what she calls a broken system.
“Unfortunately, I am not seeing any signs of a systemic fix in the works and certainly that’s what we want to get,” she said.
From the website repeatedly down for maintenance to glitches preventing patients from uploading documents, Action News Jax has been trying to get answers.
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DCF declined our requests for an interview, instead sending a statement blaming users for the errors, saying MyAccess works 99.7% of the time. A data point Hearn said is laughable.
“This is certainly one of the most complex, fragmented, broken state processes,” she said.
More than a year ago, we requested DCF’s internal emails about the portal. We paid for the records in August. Six months later, we’re still waiting to get them.
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Our sister station WFTV in Orlando took these concerns to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
WFTV reporter Sabrina Maggiore: “Governor, what is the state doing about the my access portal?”
And got no answer.
DeSantis: “I’ll answer questions on this first -- does anyone have any questions on the senate stuff?”
He never came back to the topic, though we tried.
Maggiore: “Coming back to the MyAccess portal, I just want -- "
DeSantis: “I want to focus on the topic here.”
Maggiore: “I just wanted to ask if the state is doing anything to address the issues with this.”
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He left without answering.
But walking out isn’t an option for people like Martinez or Ken, whose only option is to fight for the benefits that keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
“I don’t know if it’s it. I don’t know if it’s our governor. I don’t know who it is. But we need somebody to be accountable because nobody is being held accountable for it. And it’s not fair to the parents. It’s not fair to anybody who uses it, whether they’ve got kids or not or if it’s for them. Somebody needs to be held accountable for it because it’s very frustrating and it’s not fair to anybody,” Ken said.
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“It feels like the system is made for people to get exhausted,” Martinez said.
After the news conference, a spokesperson for DeSantis called and acknowledged he’d heard of issues with the portal, saying some were legitimate.
But instead of elaborating, he sent us back to DCF, which denies there are any problems.
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You can read the full statement below:
“There are no systematic issues with the MyAccess portal. Since its launch, over 5.8 million applications have been processed, and more than 3.7 million client accounts have been created, demonstrating that the system is functioning effectively. We have also made several improvements to enhance the user experience, including:
- Reducing the average time to complete an application from 60 minutes to 30 minutes.
- Introducing mobile features that allow applicants to complete applications and manage their benefits through smartphones or tablets; over 65% of all interactions are now conducted on mobile devices.
- Tripling the monthly usage of portal document uploads from 200,000 to 600,000.
- Achieving an average application processing time of 20 days, well below the federal standard.
“Additionally, the average wait time at our call center is less than 15 minutes.
“Routine maintenance is a normal part of any technology system, and any system downtime is used for these regularly scheduled operations. Our overall system uptime is 99.7%.
“The new portal’s technology, functionality, and effectiveness are significantly improved compared to the outdated system it replaced. As with any new system, user errors can lead to frustrations; we have developed several user guides and videos to assist applicants in navigating the portal.
“Beyond the MyAccess portal, there are many ways to apply for public assistance within the Department, including at one of the Department of Children and Families community partners, at our customer service centers, or by completing a paper application.”
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