In his FY 2013-2015 Executive Biennium Budget, Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie highlighted the daunting challenges that faced his administration during the last biennium, including a $1.3 billion potential budget shortfall that threatened deep programmatic cuts to department operations statewide. The governor utilized a fiscal strategy to only address pressing needs while investing in the state’s future, with goals to improve government efficiency and transparency. For this biennium, Hawaii’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to increase by 2.4 percent in 2013, while unemployment rates continue to decrease.

The new biennium budget (seen above in Figure 1) has several areas of investment, including:

• Early learning and early childhood health
• Education IT and digital curriculums
• Increased resources for Hawaii’s aging population
• Environmental sustainability and protection

The biggest gains by department from FY 2013-2014 include the Department of Human Services ($309 million), Department of Budget and Finance ($251 million), and Department of Transportation ($52 million). The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands saw a budget decrease of $140 million. Investments for FY 2014-2015 include $151 million for the Department of Human Services and $91 million for the Department of Budget and Finance.

Although the numbers in Figure 2 look as if Hawaii has invested millions in information technology, the numbers actually represent more transparency into Hawaii’s IT reporting. Deltek was able to gather more data on the total value of IT projects in the state for the biennium budget. Health IT was a major investment, including $2 million for its health information exchange (HIE), $45 million for Medicaid IT initiatives, and $15 million for an electronic medical record (EMR) system. The Department of Taxation is also investing nearly $32 million into its tax system modernization project for FY 2013-2015.

Despite tough times that followed the economic recession, Hawaii has laid the groundwork for a stable foundation and is continuing to increase both its GDP and IT spending. Vendors working in the education, health, and environmental space should check out Deltek’s analysis on Hawaii’s budget here, and brush up on the Aloha State in our state profile application. For a free trial, please click here.

April saw the release of a tenth round of Health Insurance Exchange (HIX) Establishment Grants, awarded to Arkansas ($16.5 million), Hawaii ($128.1 million), Illinois ($115.8 million), New Hampshire ($5.4 million), and Rhode Island ($9.8 million). Details about states’ plans for these funds are explained here. On a related note, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) also announced the availability of new funding to support navigators in states with federally-facilitated or state-partnership HIX models. Activity also picked up in states that received funding for model design through CMS’ state innovation model (SIM) initiative, including Texas and Iowa.

Notable solicitation releases in April included:

• The District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) released an RFP for a Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) State Self-Assessment (SS-A). Deltek will provide updates about the future procurement of a Medicaid management information system (MMIS) here.
• The Rhode Island Department of Administration, on behalf of the Department of Human Services (DHS), released an RFP for maintenance and operations of the InRHODES eligibility system.
• Three states released RFPs for pharmacy benefits management (PBM) services, including the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Mississippi Department of Health (DOH), and the Indiana Department of Administration (DOA).
• New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released an RFP for SIM planning services.

Notable contract awards in April included:

• The Mississippi Department of Health (DOH) awarded its Patient Information Management System (PIMS) contract to Siemens Medical Solutions for just more than $3 million.
• The Hawaii Department of Human Services awarded the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program contract to Xerox for nearly $9 million.
• The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) awarded its Health Insurance Exchange (HIX) Call Center project to Xerox. Deloitte is building the state’s HIX through  a contract awarded in October 2012 for more than $100 million.
• The Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation awarded the Integrated Health Record System contract to CoCentrix.
• The Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange awarded its Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) project to HealthPass.

Big news surfaced in Louisiana with the cancelation of a $29 million contract with Deloitte for the replacement Medicaid Eligibility Determination System (MEDS), originally awarded in April 2011. The state’s Office of Contractual Review cited the original RFP included a preference for a .net solution while Deloitte's contract proposal uses Microsoft Dynamics. The Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) asked for an additional requirement for the system that was outside the original scopeand warranted a new RFP release. Prior to becoming the secretary of DHH, Bruce Greenstein was managing director of Worldwide Health for Microsoft. Greenstein also hired another Microsoft employee, Zachery Jiwa, to be DHH's chief technology officer, but he left the department in November 2012. DHH now plans to release a new RFP for the replacement MEDS.

Looking to May and the upcoming summer months, we anticipate activity will pick up in states participating in the SIM initiative as CMS approves states’ proposals, of which many have now undergone changes after initial review from CMS. We also anticipate an influx of contract awards for HIX navigator programs, particularly with CMS’ announcement of the availability of federal funding for navigators. States in federally-facilitated or partnership HIX models may also begin to draft legislation and plan for takeovers of additional HIX functions in the future, such as the recently enacted House Bill 1508 in Arkansas.

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As written last week, Deltek’s Health and Human Services Team is taking an in-depth look at Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS) across the nation. This week, we take a look at SACWIS plans shaping up in Big Sky Country.

In the FY 2014-15 biennial budget, currently winding its way through the Montana legislature, an appropriation for $350,000 exists for planning the replacement SACWIS (called the Montana Adult and Child Welfare Information System, or MACWIS). The planning appropriation contains a provision that the Department of Public Health and Human Services conclude planning efforts and report back to the legislature when it meets again in 2015. Deltek is anticipating a procurement process; however, specific plans are not yet known.

These planning efforts over the next few years line up nicely with the state’s human services technology priorities. In 2012, the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) awarded a contract to Deloitte for the combined health care information and Montana eligibility system (CHIMES). The MACWIS is next in line for replacement and will replace the current child welfare system, CAPS, which is nearly 20 years old and not SACWIS compliant.

Though the MACWIS project is now behind schedule, the allocation of funding is promising for Montana’s future protection of children from abuse and neglect. It is no small wonder that, as with most human services departments across the nation, DPHHS prioritized the replacement of legacy systems in an effort to expend state resources in an efficient and logical way.

Stay tuned this month for additional information on state efforts to replace SACWISs. Deltek’s GovWinIQ database contains a wealth of information about other SACWIS replacement and modernization projects across the nation. Not a Deltek subscriber? Learn more and sign up for a free trial. 

This month, Deltek’s Health Care and Social Services team is taking a closer look at Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS). A SACWIS provides an official case record on all children and families served by the Title IV-B/IV-E State agency. According to the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data & Technology, “By law, a SACWIS is required to support the reporting of data to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS), the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD).” Furthermore, “A SACWIS/TACWIS is expected to have a bi-directional interface with a state's or tribe's title IV-A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF), title XIX (Medicaid), and title IV-D (Child Support) systems. SACWIS/TACWIS also must collect and manage the information necessary to facilitate the delivery of child welfare support services, including family support and family preservation.” 

According to our data, 24 states have active procurement plans related to SACWIS, while 36 states and the District of Columbia have an operational SACWIS. One state moving toward implementation of a federally compliant SACWIS is Mississippi. Last month, the state’s Department of Human Services (MDHS) released an RFP for independent verification and validation (IV&V) services. The selected IV&V vendor will assist the state in the procurement of a design, development and implementation (DDI) vendor and will oversee the DDI vendor’s replacement of the legacy system, in place since 2001.

Deltek’s GovWinIQ database contents a wealth of information about other SACWIS replacement and modernization projects across the nation. Not a Deltek subscriber? Learn more and sign up for a free trial here!

Stay tuned throughout the month for additional blogs featuring SACWIS projects taking place around the nation!

With an overall increase of just more than 4.5 percent, Pennsylvania Governor Corbett’s $66.7 billion fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget shows signs of increasing economic strength for the commonwealth. Major reform initiatives include selling the state liquor system to invest in education, modernizing Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure and overhauling state pension systems. The sale of the state liquor system is anticipated to generate $1 billion and will fund the Passport for Learning Block Grant for school districts that can use the funding to enhance access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs as well as for other initiatives.

From a vertical standpoint, health care, primary and secondary education and justice and public safety all saw increases hovering around 5 percent. The increase in health care can be attributed to expansion of services for disabled and older Pennsylvanians and children, and increased funding for state health centers. According to Acting Secretary of Health Michael Wolf, “In Pennsylvania, two million people live in communities that the federal government has designated as medically underserved.” 

Table 1: Pennsylvania Total Fiscal Year IT Line Items Budget

Overall spending on information technology projects increased 15 percent from FY 2013, much of which was designated toward general departmental IT modernization efforts, including shared service delivery under the Office of Enterprise Technology Services. The Technology Innovation Investment Fund received $7.7 million for enterprise and agency-specific innovation initiatives. The Governor’s Innovation Office has also prioritized specific IT projects in FY 2014 include the streamlining of print, imaging and mail operations, and implementation of electronic grants processing, which are expected to save the state $7 million and $50 million, respectively.

For a full analysis of Pennsylvania’s FY 2014 budget, see Deltek’s analysis, available here.

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With last week’s passage of the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 (H.R. 933), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s state-administrated Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will receive $6.8 billion in discretionary funding. This will provide an additional $250 million for WIC and help alleviate the approximately $350 million cut from the program due to sequestration. Of this total, $35 million is appropriated for management information systems (MIS), and $14 million for infrastructure upgrades. The passage of H.R. 933 funds the government through September 30, 2013, and prevents a government shutdown.

According to the National WIC Association, “With this new higher funding allocation, WIC contingency funds, unspent SNAP transfer funds carried over from the previous year, and unspent recovered funds available for reallocation, WIC will likely be able to manage through the rest of the fiscal year without cutting any participants.” This is a turnaround from the 600,000 women and children projected to lose benefits as a result of the sequestration cuts that went into effect March 1.

Georgia, Indiana, and Rhode Island are just three of many states actively planning to replace or upgrade their MIS. As discussed in previous blogs, Montana and California are two states working to implement new or upgraded electronic benefits transfer (EBT) systems for WIC and other public benefit programs. Recently awarded WIC contracts include New Jersey’s Automated Client Centered Electronic Service System (WIC ACCESS) contract to CMA Consulting, Florida’s EBT contract to eFunds (FIS), and Indiana’s EBT planning services contract to JRW Service Corporation.

Deltek’s GovWin IQ database contains more than 80 pre-RFP opportunities relating to WIC information technology projects and related consulting and quality assurance (QA) services, as well as detailed award and contract information for nearly 100 awarded WIC contracts. Deltek is also closely tracking sequestration’s impact on government contracting and providing insight on how the vendor community can overcome the cuts and continue to win government business at the state, local and federal levels.

Non-subscribers can find out more about GovWin IQ and sign up for a free trial here!