Wake County takes steps to alleviate NC FAST problems
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- NC FAST, the state's computer system that processes food stamp and Medicaid applications, has been around for more than a year, but it's still causing problems in Wake County.
Last week, we investigated how the system backlog was affecting Wake County moms and babies. (Click here to see that story.)
We found that pregnant women and babies have been waiting for months for Medicaid approval.
"It just takes longer in this NC FAST system to process an application. I've seen figures on an average 10 times longer to process an application," interim Director of Wake County's Human Services, Regina Petteway said.
The Wake County Board of Commissioners has since responded with a possible solution-86 new full time positions to help tackle the workload associated with NC FAST.
Commissioners approved more than $5.8 million to pay for those positions Monday afternoon.
The money is coming from revenue from the state's Department of Health and Human Services increasing reimbursement the county receives.
"It really is a partnership. We are depending on the state to make NC FAST faster and more efficient," Petteway said. "But, we also need to leverage the resources to make sure we are processing at the county level in the best way that we can."
Wake County officials blame the Medicaid backlog on a number of issues, and say the additional 86 workers will help them work through the 2,600 cases that are still backlogged in Wake County.
