(no subject)
I’m currently in limbo...waiting to find out if my job function will be outsourced or not. This is the third time since 1998 that the State has tried to outsource sections of the Texas Medicaid/CHIP Vendor Drug Program.
In a meeting yesterday I learned that:
1) the Formulary section will not be outsourced;
2) the Electronic Claims Management System and the Rebate section must stay together (if outsourced);
3) the Pharmacy Resolution/Contracts/Field Admin sections are still be considered for outsourcing;
4) the pieces to be outsourced can go to different vendors (except for ECMS and Rebates)
5) a decision is still months away;
6) one of the vendors is already protesting the outcome…and a decision has not been announced.
Vendors have their own team of people that protest the outcome of contracts. Who do State employees have to back us up? Our State Representative, but in matters like this it’s easy to loose your job in the process.
I'm all for the State running a more efficient/cost effective program, but their current track record makes me wonder. Over the years they have received a lot of publicity regarding possible overpayments to state vendors and other significant problems with outsourcing or contracting out state services.
Here’s the latest example.
State Contract Under Increased Fire
IBM Goes to Court to Challenge Contracting Procedures
By Michelle M. Martinez
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, March 19, 2005
As questions about some of Texas' contracting practices continue to swirl around the Capitol, IBM is going to court to challenge the state's decision to tentatively award a massive contract to one of the company's rivals.
IBM filed a lawsuit in state district court late Friday asking a judge to declare that the Health and Human Services Commission's system for awarding contracts is flawed and resulted in Accenture Ltd. unfairly snagging the tentative contract to process applications for Medicaid, food stamps and other social service programs.
The 26-page petition points to alleged employee conflicts of interest and the commission's disregard of IBM's offer to lower its project price by $107 million while considering Accenture's revised proposal. It also takes issue with the commission's internal practices for a company to challenge a contract award.
"Essentially, the procurement process was conducted in an unfair, extra-statutory, and arbitrary manner and appears to have been tainted by conflicts of interest," the petition reads.
Commission spokeswoman Jennifer Harris declined to discuss the challenge Friday. "I can't comment because it's pending litigation, and we just received a copy of the filing late this afternoon," she said.
The state is planning to open centers to field phone calls from applicants for social service programs. Some offices where Texans currently apply for benefits would close.
IBM identifies the contract to do that as "one of the largest contracts the State of Texas has ever proposed," and observers estimate it could be worth at least $1 billion over five years.
State officials announced Feb. 25 that Accenture, a Bermuda-based global consulting firm, was its choice, though they are still weighing whether to hire the company or to run the call centers themselves.
The suit filed Friday follows a formal protest that IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., filed with the commission earlier this month.
The petition touches on conflict-of-interest allegations reported earlier this week that the state is already investigating.
It points to Gary Gumbert, currently the agency's chief information officer. He worked as regional director of management information systems for an Accenture subcontractor, Maximus, before the agency hired him in January 2004, according to the lawsuit.
IBM raised concerns about Gumbert's affiliations but was told he would have a peripheral role in the contract process, according to the petition.
"Documents, including project plans and charter documents, establish his extensive involvement in the evaluative process," the suit reads. "During meetings with IBM, Mr. Gumbert displayed a clear and demonstrated bias in favor of the Accenture team."
The suit states that the commission later informed IBM that Gumbert was receiving retirement payments from Maximus.
Questions about the tentative Accenture contract began emerging publicly soon after the commission announced its decision.
Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins asked Inspector General Brian Flood to review the evaluation process for the contract on Feb. 22 - three days before the announcement.
"Obviously, this is a contract that is very large in size and scope," Harris said Friday. "The commissioner does want someone not involved in the process itself to review the process and ensure there is public confidence in any decision we make."
About a week later, Reps. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, and Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, asked Hawkins to look into allegations that Accenture had inside knowledge about the proposed contract. And a House investigating committee is looking into the matter to see if it merits a full investigation.
In addition to the allegations about Gumbert, Dukes and Turner cited other possible conflicts of interest.
They pointed to a former deputy at the commission, whom they say had knowledge of what the agency was looking for, being hired by Accenture to work on its proposal.
Dukes and others are worried about state officials moving forward in officially awarding the contract to Accenture, given the commission's track record with hiring outside companies to do state work.
"The priority of the government should be the quality of the service that is being provided, not just the contracting opportunity.
"As of four or five years, this government has been really quick to outsource and privatize a whole lot of deals," said Dukes, who has filed legislation to set parameters on privatization.
Overall, the state's health and human services agencies paid private companies $14 billion last year to provide such services as administering Medicaid claims and providing treatment for substance abuse. Lawmakers are also considering proposals to privatize duties now handled by Child Protective Services.
In December, the state settled with Electronic Data Systems, which administered Medicaid claims, after several years of haggling over money that state officials say the company overcharged. The company, which had held the contract for 25 years, repaid $24.5 million.
Last summer, the state auditor issued a report that the Health and Human Services Commissionoverpaid Clarendon Insurance Group $20 million to oversee the Children's Health Insurance Program in rural areas. The state is currently conducting an audit related to the claims, Harris said.
The commission has made efforts to improve its contracting practices.
A few months ago, it created the Health and Human Services Contract Council to come up with common contracting standards for the five agencies, and it has tried to hire more people with strong backgrounds in managing contracts, Harris said.
Still, the state should slow down before moving ahead with the call center contract, said Celia Hagert, a senior policy analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a think tank that is an advocate on behalf of low- to moderate-income Texas families.
"Our position would be not on the pros or cons of privatization at this point, but rather we don't feel like we have adequate standards in place to ensure good oversight of the whole contracting process," she said.
"We need to make sure we have that in place before we enter into any new, large, unprecedented contracts."
Who else could they get to do the job cheaper than a State employee? We are not in business to make a profit and we haven’t had a pay raise in years. I guess that’s why I am going to school at night...to learn a new trade.
In a meeting yesterday I learned that:
1) the Formulary section will not be outsourced;
2) the Electronic Claims Management System and the Rebate section must stay together (if outsourced);
3) the Pharmacy Resolution/Contracts/Field Admin sections are still be considered for outsourcing;
4) the pieces to be outsourced can go to different vendors (except for ECMS and Rebates)
5) a decision is still months away;
6) one of the vendors is already protesting the outcome…and a decision has not been announced.
Vendors have their own team of people that protest the outcome of contracts. Who do State employees have to back us up? Our State Representative, but in matters like this it’s easy to loose your job in the process.
I'm all for the State running a more efficient/cost effective program, but their current track record makes me wonder. Over the years they have received a lot of publicity regarding possible overpayments to state vendors and other significant problems with outsourcing or contracting out state services.
Here’s the latest example.
State Contract Under Increased Fire
IBM Goes to Court to Challenge Contracting Procedures
By Michelle M. Martinez
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, March 19, 2005
As questions about some of Texas' contracting practices continue to swirl around the Capitol, IBM is going to court to challenge the state's decision to tentatively award a massive contract to one of the company's rivals.
IBM filed a lawsuit in state district court late Friday asking a judge to declare that the Health and Human Services Commission's system for awarding contracts is flawed and resulted in Accenture Ltd. unfairly snagging the tentative contract to process applications for Medicaid, food stamps and other social service programs.
The 26-page petition points to alleged employee conflicts of interest and the commission's disregard of IBM's offer to lower its project price by $107 million while considering Accenture's revised proposal. It also takes issue with the commission's internal practices for a company to challenge a contract award.
"Essentially, the procurement process was conducted in an unfair, extra-statutory, and arbitrary manner and appears to have been tainted by conflicts of interest," the petition reads.
Commission spokeswoman Jennifer Harris declined to discuss the challenge Friday. "I can't comment because it's pending litigation, and we just received a copy of the filing late this afternoon," she said.
The state is planning to open centers to field phone calls from applicants for social service programs. Some offices where Texans currently apply for benefits would close.
IBM identifies the contract to do that as "one of the largest contracts the State of Texas has ever proposed," and observers estimate it could be worth at least $1 billion over five years.
State officials announced Feb. 25 that Accenture, a Bermuda-based global consulting firm, was its choice, though they are still weighing whether to hire the company or to run the call centers themselves.
The suit filed Friday follows a formal protest that IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., filed with the commission earlier this month.
The petition touches on conflict-of-interest allegations reported earlier this week that the state is already investigating.
It points to Gary Gumbert, currently the agency's chief information officer. He worked as regional director of management information systems for an Accenture subcontractor, Maximus, before the agency hired him in January 2004, according to the lawsuit.
IBM raised concerns about Gumbert's affiliations but was told he would have a peripheral role in the contract process, according to the petition.
"Documents, including project plans and charter documents, establish his extensive involvement in the evaluative process," the suit reads. "During meetings with IBM, Mr. Gumbert displayed a clear and demonstrated bias in favor of the Accenture team."
The suit states that the commission later informed IBM that Gumbert was receiving retirement payments from Maximus.
Questions about the tentative Accenture contract began emerging publicly soon after the commission announced its decision.
Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins asked Inspector General Brian Flood to review the evaluation process for the contract on Feb. 22 - three days before the announcement.
"Obviously, this is a contract that is very large in size and scope," Harris said Friday. "The commissioner does want someone not involved in the process itself to review the process and ensure there is public confidence in any decision we make."
About a week later, Reps. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, and Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, asked Hawkins to look into allegations that Accenture had inside knowledge about the proposed contract. And a House investigating committee is looking into the matter to see if it merits a full investigation.
In addition to the allegations about Gumbert, Dukes and Turner cited other possible conflicts of interest.
They pointed to a former deputy at the commission, whom they say had knowledge of what the agency was looking for, being hired by Accenture to work on its proposal.
Dukes and others are worried about state officials moving forward in officially awarding the contract to Accenture, given the commission's track record with hiring outside companies to do state work.
"The priority of the government should be the quality of the service that is being provided, not just the contracting opportunity.
"As of four or five years, this government has been really quick to outsource and privatize a whole lot of deals," said Dukes, who has filed legislation to set parameters on privatization.
Overall, the state's health and human services agencies paid private companies $14 billion last year to provide such services as administering Medicaid claims and providing treatment for substance abuse. Lawmakers are also considering proposals to privatize duties now handled by Child Protective Services.
In December, the state settled with Electronic Data Systems, which administered Medicaid claims, after several years of haggling over money that state officials say the company overcharged. The company, which had held the contract for 25 years, repaid $24.5 million.
Last summer, the state auditor issued a report that the Health and Human Services Commissionoverpaid Clarendon Insurance Group $20 million to oversee the Children's Health Insurance Program in rural areas. The state is currently conducting an audit related to the claims, Harris said.
The commission has made efforts to improve its contracting practices.
A few months ago, it created the Health and Human Services Contract Council to come up with common contracting standards for the five agencies, and it has tried to hire more people with strong backgrounds in managing contracts, Harris said.
Still, the state should slow down before moving ahead with the call center contract, said Celia Hagert, a senior policy analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a think tank that is an advocate on behalf of low- to moderate-income Texas families.
"Our position would be not on the pros or cons of privatization at this point, but rather we don't feel like we have adequate standards in place to ensure good oversight of the whole contracting process," she said.
"We need to make sure we have that in place before we enter into any new, large, unprecedented contracts."
Who else could they get to do the job cheaper than a State employee? We are not in business to make a profit and we haven’t had a pay raise in years. I guess that’s why I am going to school at night...to learn a new trade.