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Health Service System reports record open‑enrollment traffic, eMERGE downtime still constrains processing
Summary
HSS said open enrollment saw about 7,500 applications (roughly 1,000 more than last year) and about 10,300 total contacts; staff credited extra Wednesday access from eMERGE as helping process ~400 additional applications but said full access is still limited and will be pursued in 2015.
Health Service System staff told the board on Sept. 11 that October 2014 open enrollment produced markedly higher demand and strong operational performance, but that third‑party system downtime (eMERGE/PeopleSoft) continues to constrain full processing during payroll reconciliation days.
Mitchell Greggs, Member Services Manager, said the System received roughly 7,500 enrollment applications this year—about 1,000 more than the prior year—and recorded about 10,300 combined phone and in‑person contacts. As of the written report (Nov. 4), 4,700 applications had been processed (63%); by the meeting Greggs reported 95% had been entered, with only remaining City College and Unified School District files outstanding. Inbound calls during October totaled about 6,700, with an average speed‑to‑answer of roughly 10 seconds and an abandonment rate under 1 percent.
Greggs and Director Catherine Dodd described meetings with the controller’s payroll unit and the eMERGE team after October downtime blocked benefits analysts during payroll processing days. eMERGE agreed to experiment with additional system availability on select Wednesdays; that limited access allowed staff to process roughly 400 extra applications, but commissioners pressed staff to continue negotiating for fuller access in 2015 to avoid idle analyst time during critical processing windows.
Board members and public commenters praised staff for open‑enrollment logistics and the expansion of off‑site enrollment events. Commissioners recommended clearer phone prompts and pre‑testing of member‑facing phone numbers and materials to reduce repeat calls.
