Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON JOINT TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

Date:03/18/2014
ATTENDANCE
Time:07:37 AM to 09:00 AM
Hill
X
Rankin
X
Place:SCR 356
Schwartz
X
Singer
*
This Meeting was called to order by
Newell
*
Representative Tyler
Tyler
X
This Report was prepared by
Matt Kiszka
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
Discussion of Potential Legislation
Presentation on the Colorado Benefits Management System		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only
Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only

07:36 AM -- Discussion of Potential Legislation

Representative Tyler, Chair, called the meeting to order. The committee began by discussing potential legislation (Attachment A) surrounding operating budget requests versus capital budget requests. Senator Schwartz stated that the legislation had also been discussed in the Capital Development Committee. The committee discussed the threshold between the two types of budget request as laid out in the potential legislation.+

140318 AttachA.pdf140318 AttachA.pdf

07:42 AM

Committee discussion of what constitutes the difference between the two types of budget request, and how the Joint Technology Committee (JTC) is involved, ensued. Representative Rankin discussed his reservations with the legislation, and stated that he would like to see the Joint Budget Committee request the help of the JTC whenever it needs it. Committee discussion of JTC involvement in the budget request process ensued.

07:51 AM -- Presentation on the Colorado Benefits Management System

Tauna Lockhart, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Information Technology (OIT), began the presentation on the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS). A copy of the agencies' presentation was distributed to the committee (Attachment B), along with a document highlighting the CBMS work plan status (Attachment C). Ms. Lockhart outlined the initial roll-out of CBMS and the issues that were faced from the outset with the system. Representative Tyler asked Ms. Lockhart to elaborate on the inception of the system.

140318 AttachB.pdf140318 AttachB.pdf140318 AttachC.pdf140318 AttachC.pdf




Michael Brown, Director, Enterprise Applications Architecture, OIT, summarized the struggles experienced with CBMS from the outset, among which was: old and outdated technology; the system not being ready for deployment when it was launched; a catastrophic system failure in 2010; and poor coding practices use in the original build. Mr. Brown elaborated on the co-mingling of user interface code with business rules policy code, stated that OIT had dedicated a large amount of its current 18-month work plan to separating these different code layers out, and explained the technical process of this code separation.

08:04 AM

Representative Tyler asked the presenters to respond to an issue raised by a constituent who was denied access to CBMS because of nonpayment of Medicare Part D premiums. Antoinette Taranto, Acting Director, Office of Client Services, Eligibility and Enrollment, Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), responded that she would like to get a copy of the letter and have her team look in to the issue. Mr. Brown outlined the problems OIT has faced with CBMS in this regard, and discussed the office's plans for managing client correspondence.

08:08 AM

Ms. Lockhart outlined the tangible improvements that OIT has achieved with CBMS. Representative Rankin asked if OIT has been able to monetize the results of the improvements that Ms. Lockhart spoke to. Ms. Taranto spoke to a number of efficiencies and savings that have been achieved through CBMS improvements. Representative Rankin asked Ms. Taranto to write a memo summarizing these results for distribution in the legislature, which she agreed to do.

08:15 AM

Representative Singer asked the departments to speak to the issue of meeting federally established guidelines and requirements for system timeliness, and if there are federal dollar sanctions for agencies that do not meet them. Ms. Lockhart stated that OIT must maintain a 90 percent system timeliness, which is defined as transactions completed in four seconds or less. Colorado and the CBMS is currently operating at 94-95% timeliness. Sarah Leopold, Department of Human Services (DHS), spoke to the federal sanctions. Representative Singer asked about new system builds and how they affect user access to CBMS, which is something that he has noticed issues around. Mr. Brown stated that OIT has set up a new governance structure and has since changed the way that it does CBMS system testing. Committee discussion ensued.

08:22 AM

Senator Schwartz asked the departments to speak to user-friendliness of systems in relation to the Connect For Health Colorado marketplace. Ms. Taranto stated that the agencies are taking the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into consideration, and have made it their charge to streamline the system for consumers. Mr. Brown added that the new governance structure for CBMS is very collaborative, and has been formed to address such considerations.

08:26 AM

Ms. Leopold summarized system improvements achieved from the perspective of the DHS. Representative Rankin asked how lean processes had been taken into consideration in the planning and updating of the CBMS. Ms. Taranto spoke to OIT's approach to this.


08:32 AM

Ms. Lockhart described the different CBMS budget requests that were made in 2014. Committee questioning and discussion of these budget requests ensued. Senator Newell asked how the departments go about prioritizing their budget requests surrounding CBMS. Mr. Brown stated that a committee has been formed to specifically address the prioritization of CBMS budget requests.

08:38 AM

Mr. Brown outlined the coming 24 months for CBMS, the work that has been laid out for OIT in this time frame, and the budget requests that have been made to support this work. Representative Tyler asked how Adobe software fits into the needs of the different agencies and CBMS, which Mr. Brown spoke to.

08:43 AM

Ms. Leopold discussed upcoming DHS goals for CBMS and the budget requests that had been made to support the work of the department in the coming 24 months.

08:46 AM

Ms. Taranto addressed the budget requests specific to HCPF for CBMS, and how these would support the business plan of the department in the coming 24 months. Senator Newell asked Ms. Taranto to speak to the electronic conversion of user records, and asked her to consider a passport system for youth and foster care. Ms. Taranto stated that that was something the department was already working on. She also responded to a question on electronic communications and what the agency does in the case of undelivered e-mail.

08:50 AM

Ms. Lockhart highlighted additional major changes coming to CBMS in the next 24 months. Kevin Patterson, Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor John Hickenlooper, came to the table to speak to the work and successes involved in the CBMS overhaul.

08:55 AM

Representative Singer asked the presenters to consider displaying screenshot examples of system issues and improvements in future presentations to the committee. Representative Tyler asked the presenters to answer a question offline on the prioritization of quality control issues, and Senator Schwartz stated that the Connect For Health website needed to be fixed to address current issues that users were experiencing.

08:59 AM

The committee was adjourned.