Washington DC is working to modernize its health and human service eligibility processes in order to offer integrated case management. The city is also working to comply with federal health care reform requirements to establish a health insurance exchange, and has chosen Accenture to work on both goals.
The plan and system requirements fall under the authority of the District’s Healthcare Reform Implementation Committee, responsible for improving resident access to quality healthcare while ensuring compliance with federal mandates. Work will include changing Medicaid eligibility processes, the creation of new self-service tools and capabilities and the creation of a Health Benefits Exchange to open access to affordable health insurance.
The city will be using a federal funds matching program through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which will provide a match of 90 percent federal/10 percent state. The funding choice is a notable departure from other states working on their own health care upgrades – much of that funding comes from a federal grant program, typically defined by lower awards.
The CMS funding will enable the District to replace its aging mainframe-based system with an integrated solution. The new system will serve multiple health and human service agencies and programs, supporting the District’s goal to improve city-wide integration of services.
“The District is wisely moving to an IT approach that allows for more data-sharing, uses innovative technology and is more easily updated and scaled for growth through configuration rather than coding,” said Julie Booth, Accenture’s human services North American managing director for State, Provincial and Local government.
