19 Jul Report says $32 million state computer project will be delayed
Madison, Wis. – Yet another state information technology project will experience a delay after the contractor, the Plano, Tex.-based EDS Corp., missed its May 2007 target deadline, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal.
State health department spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said the project, a $32.3 million overhaul of the state’s computer system for Medicaid health claims, will be delayed at least 10 months. Thus far, the project has $9.3 million in cost overruns.
The new March 2008 target date means the state will have to wait to implement what is purportedly a more efficient system for the processing of about 30 million claims per year.
Medicaid is the federally funded, state-administered program that provides health insurance coverage for the poor. The federal government will pick up 90 percent of the cost of the computer project, which include $21.5 million for EDS and $10.5 million to cover state workers and resources, the report said.
News of the delay, which is being attributed to changes in state and federal rules, comes three months after the publication of a state audit that was highly critical of the management of state information technology projects.
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