Specifications include, but are not limited to: Operate a Primary Call Center for Medicaid Eligible Individuals The contractor will provide a primary call center that will be located and operated in the State of New York (see Section 6.2, Technical Proposal). The contractor will establish and maintain a toll-free telephone number and other voice and telecommunications devices, including devices appropriate for the hard-of-hearing in order to effectively communicate and interact with enrollees and their advocates, transportation providers and medical professionals, to secure appropriate transportation for enrollees to access Medicaidcovered services. Oral interpreting services shall also be made available, free of charge to Medicaid enrollees, for all predominant languages, especially Spanish and Russian. The telephone number will be operational at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the service begin date and will be transferable to the DOH, or other entity designated by the DOH, upon expiration of the contract. The contractor shall maintain sufficient personnel to perform the functions required of the call center from the peak-hours of 7:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday; during non-peak hours (6:01 p.m.-6:59 a.m.) and 24 hours a day on weekends to perform management of all trip requests including for urgent, life sustaining and/or sick visit appointments. The contractor may observe the designated Federal holidays of: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. However, the contractor will be prepared to manage requests for urgent, life sustaining and/or sick visit appointments on those holidays. If the contractor intends to observe additional holidays, the contractor will obtain prior written approval from the DOH. The contractor shall give the DOH thirty (30) days’ written notice of scheduled closure of business other than those holidays listed above. The contractor shall maintain telephone routing and response procedures, with options for the enrollee to stay in the queue to reach a staff person, return to telephone routing, or opt to enter a telephone number to be used to return the call to the enrollee. The contractor will meet the standards outlined in Section 4.4 Performance Standards.
