The Maryland Department of Labor Division of Unemployment Insurance saw a total number of 108,508 new insurance claims for the week of April 4. This number is a spike of 29% from last week's numbers and call center hours and operations are not able to handle the spike. Unemployment insurance claim numbers are increasing in an unprecedented manner given the Coronavirus pandemic across states. While the department has taken measures to address this by asking citizens to submit claims based on their names and days of week, it is also urging people to file claims online. 

Member Guide for COVID-19

COVID-19 is a global pandemic.  With 1 in 5 Americans covered by Medicaid, it is seen as a key player in the response to this national emergency.  There is uncertainty around eligibility, co-pay, testing and treatment coverage.  There has been a surge in search of Coronavirus information on Google.  Below is the search term indexed against popular terms like “Trump”, “music” and “video” – according to News Lab team at Google, there has not been a search term like coronavirus in terms of volume – as you can see in the image, it surpasses all other keywords.

Yesterday, 50 people answered 4000 of 196,000 calls received in one state workforce agency to help citizens about unemployment insurance claims. Each of the 50 customer service representatives was working their hardest and served 80 callers each. Fifty people working their hardest resulted in only 0.2% of callers served.

This isn’t a drill. This is real life. This is the crisis we find ourselves in due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Futurists have been envisioning ‘talking computers’ for ages and they are not just science fiction but reality today. Artificial intelligence is already transforming our daily lives. It is no surprise that the government sector is adopting this rapid technological advancement rather quickly. Governments have already begun to adopt chatbots for customer service. Chatbots are computer programs that one can talk to by text or voice and they are helping government agencies improve their speed and quality of service and citizens’ in-turn are getting a better customer experience.

In many cases, chatbots improve customer service - they can speed up interactions, reduce wait times, by way of answering queries with complete accuracy, pulling knowledge instantly from a database, and freeing up valuable time of call center agents. Chatbots are available anytime, anywhere and are easy to use for today’s digital citizens and are soon becoming an essential IT service.

The novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 has undone the world as we know it. Our relationships and interactions with the outside world and with each other have changed completely in just the last few weeks. These changes are unsettling. Will national and international borders remain closed? When will be able to resume our everyday lives or even be able to do something as simple as step out to our favorite restaurants,  bars or cafés? Will human touch become taboo?  Will our lives ever be the “same” again?

The Coronavirus crisis is global, and many businesses and organizations have enabled their employees to work from home. It is no different for state and local government agencies. Consider Seattle, one of the epicenters of the pandemic in the United States.

It's during times like these that people need to band together and support our most vulnerable segments of the population. You, Sagitec's customers, provide some of the best financial support for those in need. We know you are working hard to ensure the services and benefits you offer are not disrupted. When you chose us as your partner, you became part of the Sagitec family and families support each other. We'd like to offer you a helping hand. What can we do to best support you?

As a global company, Sagitec is closely monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19), along with the rest of the World. We are following guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health officials. Our top priorities are to protect the health and safety of our clients, employees, and their families, and to ensure the continuity of our business and services.

The goal of any software should be to provide the best value possible while maximizing profits. The software development process is critical in ensuring that the Return on Investment is optimized.

Steve Jobs said, “You've got to start with the customer experience and work backward toward the technology – not the other way around.”