COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Federal regulators have asked the state to work on resolving its backlog of over 70,000 applications from poor and disabled Ohioans seeking Medicaid benefits.

Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran says regulators indicated Ohio isn’t where it needs to be regarding Medicaid applications, even though the number of pending applications has dropped about 30% in recent months.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Corcoran says regulators asked Ohio to put together a plan addressing the issue. She says the state is working with large counties to diagnose what’s causing the problem and how to fix it.

The Dispatch reports most applications have been pending more than 45 days, causing people to wait to receive health care and creating financial burdens for some providers.

About 2.8 million people are covered by Ohio’s Medicaid program.