The number of Medicaid claims awaiting processing in North Dakota has nearly quadrupled because of computer problems.

The Medical Services Division at the North Dakota Department of Human Services has been making estimated payouts to medical providers to help their cash flow while waiting for claims to process, director Maggie Anderson said.

The problem stems from compatibility issues between the division's 30-year-old computer system and federal Medicaid changes recently programmed into it, she said.

"Our system had to be modified … it's just having problems with it because that's new-age technology," Anderson said.

While it's normal to have about 25,000 claims waiting to be processed, the current number is closer to 90,000.

"The volume that we have in the backlog and the length of time that some of them have been in there is out of the ordinary," Anderson said.

The delay in payments isn't affecting patients in most cases. However, medical providers are having to wait longer to get reimbursed.

Randall Pederson, administrator of the Tioga Medical Center, said the hospital has unpaid claims dating to January. The hospital does less Medicaid business than many hospitals so the delays have been tolerable, he said.

Mitch Leupp, administrator at Mountrail County Medical Center in Stanley, said that hospital is waiting for payment on 60 claims worth about $30,000.

"For us, that's huge," he said.

The Medicaid backlog has not affected nursing homes, which often depend on Medicaid for more than half of their revenue.

The North Dakota Legislature approved spending $62.5 million to replace the Medicaid computer system. The Medical Services Division expects to have a new system in place by July 2009.

Meanwhile, the division is working with the state's information technology specialists to resolve the computer issues on the old system as best they can, Anderson said.

The division also has increased its labor force to speed up processing. Employees became subject to mandatory overtime in September. The division hired two temporary, full-time workers and plans to add six more temporary staff this week.