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Pine County to roll out EVA phone system as HHS flags staffing turnover and Medicaid cost shifts
Summary
County technology and HHS committees briefed the board on near-term IT infrastructure replacements and an EVA AI phone-answering system kickoff; HHS reported about 9% staff turnover and warned of increased workload from upcoming Medicaid audits and cost shifts, with staff planning a fraud-prevention update.
County technology staff told the board that several servers (including the GIS and disaster recovery servers) are at or near end-of-life and recommended a support contract (approximately $12,400 per year) to bridge capacity while longer-term virtual infrastructure plans are developed.
Separately, Health & Human Services staff reported roughly 9% turnover over the past year and described operational restructuring to reduce silos. HHS said the EVA project (a virtual voice system to handle call-ins) held a kickoff Jan. 29 with weekly meetings and an expected 6-to-8-week initial implementation phase; staff said EVA will rely heavily on accurate website data and that department staff will monitor performance closely.
HHS leaders also warned about pending Medicaid-related cost shifts (major elements anticipated in 2027) that will increase audit and reporting workloads for the department, likely doubling some check‑in/audit tasks. Commissioners asked for more detailed briefings; staff said they would prepare a comprehensive fraud-prevention and cost-shift report for the full board.
What happens next: IT will proceed with the recommended short-term support contract while planning longer-term upgrades; HHS will return with a detailed fraud-prevention and Medicaid cost-shift briefing to inform board decisions and potential legislative outreach.
