Calif. re-ups EDS for Medicaid

Electronic Data Systems Corp., Plano, Texas, won a four-year, $407 million contract renewal from the California Department of Health Services to continue managing the state's Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, which pays for medical services for 6 million children and adults with limited income and resources.

For the new contract, EDS and the Department of Health Services have introduced several enhancements, including Web-based health care portals, a prescription drug discount program for senior citizens, a fraud detection system and a new accounting system.

About 1,100 EDS employees are located throughout California to operate and maintain the Medi-Cal system. The system moves data among providers and processes payments to physicians, nurse practitioners, hospitals and nursing homes.