R.I. computer glitch delays 29,000 SSI payments to the elderly and disabled

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Raimondo administration on Tuesday acknowledged problems making approximately 29,000 direct deposits to the accounts of "aged, blind and disabled persons" who qualify for $39.92 a month in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments from the state.

Accounts of what happened changed between Saturday and Tuesday, when a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health & Human Services (EOHHS) acknowledged that the problems are more extensive than previously reported by the administration, and not yet fixed.

The spokeswoman also acknowledged that the payment problems are all connected to the Sept. 13 launch of the state’s biggest-ever IT project, at an estimated cost to state and federal taxpayers of $364 million so far. Known as UHIP, the "Unified Health Infrastructure Project" was envisioned as a seamless replacement for a hodgepodge of decades-old state computer systems.

On Saturday, after the problem first came to light, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services acknowledged there had been a "data anomaly."

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