Louisiana re-ups ACS for health services work

Louisiana residents who don't have health insurance and suffer from disabilities or problems associated with aging will continue to rely on Affiliated Computer Services Inc. to assess and help manage their medical care.

ACS of Dallas won a 20-month, $11.6 million contract extension with the Bureau of Health Services Financing within the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to expand its personal-care services operation. ACS was first hired to run the program in 2004.

ACS, under terms of the contract, will expand the PCS program by adding internal support staff and external field staff for in-home evaluations.

ACS helps people with disabilities, the elderly and their families make choices to meet their long-term personal-care needs. ACS officials, operating out of a call center, screen applicants and establish in-home evaluations to determine for which services the applicant qualifies. Notes from the evaluation are entered into the state's home-care data system.

A report is then generated from the data system and is used by ACS staff to write a plan of care for the applicant. The plan is then submitted to the state for approval. On approval, ACS works with the applicant to select a health care provider to administer the plan of care. ACS also handles the billing and claims approval processes.

ACS, which offers business process outsourcing and IT solutions, has about 55,000 employees and had annual revenue of $4.3 billion in fiscal 2005.
The company ranks No. 51 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors.