HP wins big payout on Nevada’s Medicaid program

Hewlett-Packard Co. has won a five-year, $176 million services agreement with the Nevada Division of Health Care Financing and Policy to strengthen Medicaid operations and help position the state for health care reform.

The new agreement calls for HP Enterprise Services to become Nevada’s Medicaid fiscal agent and to upgrade and manage the state’s Medicaid Management Information System. HP also will help the state agency enhance service delivery to Medicaid clients and improve staff productivity, according to an HP announcement today.

Under the terms of the agreement, HP will process medical and pharmacy claims as well as review and process prior authorization requests in addition to utilization management and personal care reviews for the state.

HP also will assist the Medicaid program in connecting health care providers with critical health information to improve overall care.

The company will add new decision-support systems and services, enabling better decision making through more accurate and up-to-date information.

HP will aid the state in detecting potential fraud and abuse cases while improving the efficiency of claims processing.

All of these steps are designed to lower the risks, costs and challenges associated with the state’s Medicaid program, the announcement said.

The Division of Health Care Financing and Policy is responsible for Medicaid benefits for almost 300,000 Nevada residents and processes about 12 million Medicaid claims per year. Its programs spend $1.5 billion annually on more than 300,000 low-income Nevadans, including families, children, the elderly and disabled.

HP administers $95 billion in benefits a year and serves as fiscal agent or principal IT provider to 21 other Medicaid programs.

Hewlett-Packard Co., of Palo Alto, Calif., ranks No. 12 on Washington Technology’s 2010 list of the Top 100 federal government contractors.