Bethel says NIB 'kinks' should be fixed by mid-June

Mon, May 23rd 2016, 10:36 AM

National Insurance Board (NIB) Director Rowena Bethel yesterday acknowledged continuing challenges with the issuance of benefits and claims checks as NIB transitions to a new information technology platform and said the "kinks" should be ironed out by mid-June.

In a statement last Tuesday, NIB apologized to its customers, noting that 30 percent of its disability benefits claims and short-term claims, such as maternity, sickness, injury and unemployment were impacted as NIB transitions to its new online platform.

"We are still going through a period of resolving the issues," Bethel said during a press conference at NIB's headquarters on Baillou Hill Road.

"There are persons who are impacted.

"What I have asked, and I will repeat again, is for persons to call before visiting the National Insurance Board.

"Next week, we will have additional persons manning our phone lines, because that has been an issue that the public has noted with NIB - manning the phone lines in the customer service area to be able to respond to those inquiries."

She continued, "If our turnaround time was, for example, two days, that has not been something that we have been able to meet in every case because of some of the issues that we have encountered.

"I don't back away from the fact that these things happen, but we are working extremely hard, very hard to correct the problems."

Bethel did not have the number of beneficiaries impacted on hand, but noted that the challenges have had an "appreciable impact".

She said NIB has been working around the clock to address the issues.

"We have seen improvements, particularly over the last two weeks," she said.

"We are continuing to look at other ways to ease these problems that we are experiencing and ways to interact with the public before they actually come up here to discover that a check is not available, for example."

As a part of the system upgrades, NIB will shift from issuing benefits in the form of checks to an online environment, inclusive of direct debits.

Bethel said she believes this will aid in addressing issues NIB has encountered.

The NIB director said by mid-June, benefit services and claims should be fully available online.

The next phase will seek to ensure employers can fully interact with NIB online.

The first phase of upgrades to NIB's system involved the new smart card.

The card is slated to be used as the means of access for National Health Insurance (NHI).

The primary healthcare services phase of NHI was expected to start in April, but health officials said in March that NHI would be delayed by around six months.

At last check, approximately 209,000 smart cards have been issued, Bethel confirmed yesterday. NIB's target is 340,000.

Bethel pointed out that students account for 80,000 of that figure.

She said NIB is in the process of updating its records to account for those students.

"In terms of where we are, I think we are making very good progress in the target group that we are seeking to cover," Bethel said.

Royston Jones Jr., Guardian Staff Reporter

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

 Sponsored Ads