Deltek Pulse: Health and human services month in review, July 2014

In July, the health and human services team saw the release of nearly 700 solicitations with either health care or social services as a primary vertical. This is a dramatic drop from the 1,709 solicitations released in June and 1,170 released in May. The high numbers over the past few months could indicate that states were working hard to issue solicitations before the end of the fiscal year. States were not under the same pressure last month and may still be deciding what projects to move forward this year based on agency priorities and budget limitations.

The word cloud below represents the frequency of terms in solicitations released in July 2014. The common use of the words “management” and “testing” may indicate that states are taking preliminary steps to implement new IT systems in the coming months. 

As one can see from the below map, California, New Jersey and Texas saw the largest number of health and human services-related opportunities, followed by Virginia and Louisiana. Wyoming and West Virginia had no related activity.

Notable Opportunities

• Texas released an RFP for electronic benefits transfer (EBT) services on July 10 for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The state is seeking a single vendor approach to replace Texas EBT's current multi-vendor approach for the upcoming EBT-4 period.
• Vermont released an RFP for a care management (CM) solution that includes software design, development, implementation and technical support services. The CM solution will help with early identification of member health care needs and coordination of care and results reporting. The solution will be built on MITA 3.0 compliant architecture meeting CMS’ Seven Conditions and Standards.
• Washington state released an RFP for the WIC Cascades Project, which will involve the replacement of the state’s aging WIC information system with a modified version of the Mountain Plains State Agency Model (MP SAM) WIC system, and the implementation of online WIC EBT functionality.
• Florida issued an RFP for project management consultant services for the MMIS, DSS, and fiscal agent rebid. The selected vendor will provide project management office services to help ensure procurement efforts and the resulting new fiscal agent contract are completed without disruption of service to Medicaid recipients or providers of services.
• Oregon released an RFP for child support enforcement automated system (CSEAS) modernization implementation services on July 9. The implementation contractor will assist in the design, development, implementation, operation and maintenance, and transition to a modernized, statewide child support automated system.
• Massachusetts released an RFP for a next generation health care information system on July 15. This system will support the management of client service authorization determinations, client enrollment, benefit management, provider contracting and payment processes for contracted services, utilization, and outcomes management. The primary agencies served by this procurement include the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), the Department of Mental Health (DMH), and the Department of Public Health, Bureau of Public Health Facilities.
• Vermont issued an RFP for a prescription drug monitoring system (VPMS) on July 15. The state is seeking ongoing operation, maintenance and upgrading of its VPMS that provides mechanisms for collecting and uploading data on all Schedule II, III and IV controlled substances dispensed by Vermont licensed pharmacies, and responding to provider and pharmacy inquiries and queries about dispensing records of individual patients.

Analyst’s Take

The summer procurement season for state and local governments in the health and human services market may not be as active as previous months, but things will probably heat up again toward the end of August and early fall as states move forward with system modernization and replacement efforts. States are continuing to move forward with WIC EBT implementation efforts, as well as modernizations of existing health care and human services IT systems. Deltek will continue to monitor upcoming IT projects to bring you all the latest business opportunities in the state and local markets.

You can learn more about current procurement opportunities in the GovWin IQ State and Local Opportunities database. Not a Deltek subscriber? Click here to learn more about Deltek's GovWin IQ service and gain access to a free trial.