ACS wins $600 million Texas Medicaid administration deal

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. has won a $600 million contract from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for fiscal agent and administrative services to support the state's Medicaid and Texas Health Network programs, the company announced Nov. 22.

The four-year contract includes two one-year options. Subject to final negotiations, the contract is expected to begin in February 2003.

Under the contract, ACS of Dallas will distribute funds, process claims, determine eligibility and handle third-party recovery for the state's Medicaid, traditional fee-for-service program and the Texas Health Network primary care, case management, managed care program.

ACS provides Medicaid program support to 13 other states and the District of Columbia. The company has served as the primary care case management network administrator for Texas since 1997.

The award significantly increases ACS' presence in the Medicaid market and the company's scope of work in Texas by combining the existing Medicaid Fee-for-Service contract responsibilities with that of ACSÕ existing Texas Health Network administrative activities.

Additional functions and responsibilities that ACS will take on under the Medicaid Fee-for-Services component will include claims processing, provider recruitment, training and education, information technology management, hospital audits, third-party recoveries and increased call center support for Medicaid users and providers.

Integrating both the primary care case management and fee-for-services contracts will enable ACS to provide operating efficiencies such as integration of call center activities; integration of provider education, enrollment and contracting; and the reduction in administrative barriers for providers by offering more timely access to claims status and payment history via Web portal.

In addition, ACS plans to introduce a monitoring and tracking capability that will give the customer real-time access to critical data to analyze and make timely decisions affecting both responsiveness and program effectiveness.

Texas operates the third largest Medicaid program in the United States. At the end of the state's fiscal year in August, the Texas Medicaid program covered more than 2.2 million recipients in 254 counties and spent about $14.3 billion.

ACS has about 40,000 employees and more than $3 billion in annual revenue, according to Hoover's Online of Austin, Texas.