New York's $1.1B Medicaid system upgrade struggles; only one-third of enrollees auto-renew

Published Oct 1, 08:42 PM UTC

New York's Department of Health began transitioning over 147,000 Medicaid and Medicare Savings Program enrollees to an upgraded case management system about a year ago, but state officials say only a third have been able to automatically renew coverage without assistance. The shift is part of a $1.1 billion contract with Deloitte Consulting aimed at creating an automated system for real-time eligibility determinations. While intended to replace outdated paper-based systems, the rollout has been riddled with challenges. Advocates report a surge in inappropriate denials, inaccurate information transfers, a flawed automated asset verification tool, and state workers' inability to manually override denials. The state began rolling out the new system in September 2025, with a second wave of complex cases expected between November 2027 and February 2028. The contract grew from $177 million in August 2023 to $1.18 billion after four amendments. The Health Department says the system was thoroughly tested but problems remain and are being addressed. Deloitte did not respond to a request for comment.