Accenture Gets Pink Slip For CHIP Contract, But Not For The Reasons You Think

At long last, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission has announced it will take a major step toward tearing down the “Permanent Wall” keeping many children from CHIP coverage: They’re giving Accenture a pink slip.

But, before you jump for joy, note the contract likely won’t end much before November 1, and other companies may end up handling the paperwork aspects of CHIP while HHSC employees actually handle screening. So, it’s not a total victory.

That, and you have to consider that poor service and a general failure to perform duties in an adequate or even minimally satisfactory manner wasn’t the main reason the contract was cancelled, according to those involved:

The state just recently had drastically scaled back its contract with Accenture to operate call centers that determine needy Texans’ eligibility for benefits, cutting its $899 million contract by $356 million and ending it two years early.

But in the end, the two sides couldn’t agree on a price for the company to stay involved.

“Our offer was at a level that we thought was sufficient to provide the services the state wanted,” said Accenture spokesman Jim McAvoy. “We are going to work as hard as we can to make sure it’s a seamless transition.”

A number of legislators issued statements on the cancellation today.

State Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville):

“It comes one year and nine months too late, but the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) finally announced today that it will end a key contract with the private consulting firm, Accenture’s Texas Access Alliance.

[..]

Since its inception, problems with the contract have been constant.  Families across the state were told their CHIP applications were lost, children were left unable to visit the doctor and no one accepted accountability. When it comes to health and human services and our children, privatization should never work in concert with spending reductions.

State employees have a long and proven track record for providing high quality and effective services.  Unfortunately, decisions made in 2003 devalued some of our most loyal state employees by jeopardizing 2,500 positions, and the result has been disastrous.

State Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio):

“As the former chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, I held hearings in 2006 regarding the many problems associated with the Accenture contract. My committee heard hours of testimony about the human suffering caused by this troubled project, including accounts of system errors that led to seriously ill children losing health care coverage provided through the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

“I am gratified by the recent decision to end the Accenture contract. I have opposed the policies and legislation that led to this contract since they appeared in House Bill 2292 during the 78th Session. I regret that so many Texans have suffered as we implemented policies and systems that seemed designed to prevent access to services rather than to facilitate it. I stand ready to work with my fellow legislators on both sides of the aisle as we rebuild a system that helps Texans receive the help they need in order to survive.

“I hope this experience has provided a lesson for policymakers in our State: we should always proceed cautiously when we deal with our most fragile and vulnerable populations.”

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte:

Non-performance issues, such as those we have experienced with Accenture, need to be addressed promptly.  It is too bad it took thousands of children being denied coverage, including the death of one child for the Commission to cancel Accenture’s contract.

Our State’s contracts should be written with the intent to benefit our mission, not our contractors.  I can only hope that this magnificent blunder will lead us to question future privatization efforts.

And, the Center for Public Policy Priorities:

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced today that it is terminating its contract with Accenture to enroll low-income Texans in critical programs, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The contract will officially end in November 2007.
Privatization was supposed to save Texas hundreds of millions of dollars and improve services to clients through better use of technology and a more modern enrollment process.
While CPPP has long supported modernization of the way
low-income Texans access services, from the beginning, we have been concerned about the privatization of state services. In particular, we doubted the ability of private companies to deliver better services at a lower cost. We also opposed the deep cuts being made to the state eligibility workforce. Texas’ eligibility system was badly understaffed and underfunded before privatization, and this continues to be the primary problem facing the system.
As the contract winds down, HHSC will evaluate whether to hire state staff to take over the privatized functions or use different contractors. Given the failure of the current outsourcing experiment, we urge the Texas Legislature to require a careful analysis of the benefits of outsourcing before any future contracts are awarded and strictly limit the types of state services that can be privatized.
Our concern now is for the millions of low-income Texans who rely on these programs for health care, food, and temporary cash assistance. During the transition, we urge both the state and the private contractors to do everything possible to ensure that all the Texans who need help, get help, on time and in full measure.
Returning the system to state control is only the first step to making things work better. The Legislature must address the shortage of state workers by appropriating more money for staff. For almost a year, timeliness in application processing has been well below federal standards. Major delays in services are occurring in Austin, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and East Texas.
While HHSC has requested $17.3 million in General Revenue above the amount in the base budget (Senate/House Bill 1), this alone will only maintain current staffing. If the Legislature does not increase funding for staff, merely terminating the Accenture contract will make little difference.

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