The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) on Friday reached a final agreement worth more than $100 million to the state to end its contract with the Texas Access Alliance for eligibility support services.
Under the agreement, the Alliance will forgo $70.9 million in payments for services provided to the state, will pay $20 million in cash and will provide a $10 million credit against future work performed by Maximus.
"We had two primary goals in winding down this contract, and we achieved both of them," said Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins. "We successfully transitioned the work to other vendors and back to the state without disrupting services, and we've negotiated a final agreement that protects the interests of taxpayers."
The contract, signed in June 2005, covered call center operations and other eligibility support services for Medicaid, CHIP, food stamps and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). In March 2007, HHSC announced that it would end the contract early. All services covered by the contract were transitioned to other vendors or back to the state by June 2007, and HHSC continued to negotiate on the final financial terms of the contract.
After deciding to end the contract in 2007, HHSC took over management of CHIP and maintenance of the state's computer system for eligibility services. HHSC signed interim agreements with Maximus to process CHIP applications, staff the call centers and perform enrollment broker services to help Medicaid clients enroll in health plans.
HHSC is in the process of competitive procurements for call center operations and document processing services.
"There's more work to be done, but we've made real progress in our effort to modernize our eligibility services and make it easier to apply for assistance," Hawkins said. "We have four call centers up and running, we've integrated modern technology into our business process, and the conversion to the new computer system is proceeding. We have put in a place the infrastructure to let Texans choose how they want to apply for services and the means to deliver services more efficiently."
In a separate release, Maximus CEO Richard Montoni said, "We determined that resolving the matter and avoiding the continuing costs, distractions and uncertainty of the arbitration process was in the best interests of our customers, shareholders and employees. Following the wind down of the Texas Access Alliance contract in 2007, HHSC entered into direct contracts with MAXIMUS for the administration of its most critical health and human services programs including Medicaid Enrollment, State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and eligibility support services, and we continue to run those programs for the State of Texas."
