Former Ramsey County employee says Medicaid backlog persists

In September, Lynne Kincaid retired as a Ramsey County employee, where she helped process medical assistance — or Medicaid — claims for years.

Medicaid helps people who are older, have low incomes, or are disabled afford health insurance.

In late October, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS first reported that there was a backlog in processing Medicaid applications and renewals.

At the time, a Ramsey County spokesperson said about 500 people were waiting more than 60 days for their Medicaid applications and renewals to be processed.

Kincaid told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS she believes the number of people in the backlog is “worse than that.”

“The problem is they don’t have enough employees to handle these cases,” Kincaid said. “It’s unacceptable.”

Unacceptable, Kincaid said, because delays in processing applications mean patients can’t get their prescriptions renewed and doctors’ appointments often have to be canceled.

In October, Susan Hill, a registered nurse, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS she has five patients who have fallen into the backlog. Hill said they had to cancel visits to their doctors and some also did not have their medications renewed.

“It’s the worst I’ve seen in 25 years,” Hill said.

A Ramsey County spokesperson said there has been a surge in requests after the pandemic and staffing levels are low. The county spokesperson said they are hiring part-time employees from other counties and other employees are working overtime to try to catch up and clear the backlog.