EDS Wins Extension on Indiana Medicaid

Electronic Data Systems Corp. has won a one-year, $33 million contract extension from Indiana to continue administering health benefits for the state's Medicaid program, the company announced Dec. 12.

Under the contract, EDS will use its Medicaid management information system to support Indiana's Medicaid program, including claims processing, eligibility verification, pharmacy benefits, long-term care facility auditing, third-party recoveries, decision support and provider relations.

The relational database design of EDS' Medicaid management system, called interChange, enables it to adapt quickly to program changes, including the security, privacy and standardization requirements mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

HIPAA requires health care organizations to standardize electronically transmitted financial and administrative transactions and implement security and privacy safeguards to protect sensitive patient-related data.

Over the years, EDS has expanded interChange in Indiana to support multiple benefits programs, such as the Children's Health Insurance Program, and has provided users with Internet access to verify eligibility and obtain claim status.

EDS has managed administrative and operational processes for the Indiana office of Medicaid Planning and Policy since 1991, company officials said. The company runs Medicaid programs for 20 states.

EDS of Plano, Texas, has more than 122,000 employees and had sales of $19.2 billion in fiscal 2000.