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Friday, November 18, 2005

Ind. Gov't. - "Welfare contract may cost state $1 billion"

"Welfare contract may cost state $1 billion" is the headline to this AP Exclusive by Ken Kusmer posted late this afternoon on the Indianapolis Star website. Some quotes:

INDIANAPOLIS -- Privatizing the application process for food stamps, Medicaid and other welfare benefits will cost the state at least $1 billion, the largest contract in state history, the Daniels administration has told vendors.

The contract is almost certain to go to an out-of-state vendor despite Gov. Mitch Daniels' "Buy Indiana" executive order in which state agencies are required to spend 90 percent of procurement dollars on Indiana businesses.

Such a contract could cover as many as 10 years, Secretary Mitch Roob Jr. of the Family and Social Services Administration said Friday. He stressed that the state was still soliciting information from vendors that would shape the final contract, so it was premature to speculate on a dollar amount.

The Indiana Department of Administration, however, made it clear to vendors that the contract is expected to top $1 billion, more than twice as much as the state's largest active contract.

Here is the State's 54-page "Request for Information" from the DOA and FSSA - a solicitation for "Eligibility Determination Services." Responses are due Jan. 3, 2006.

This one-page document is a notice of a briefing for respondents, to be held Friday, Nov. 18 (that was today) from 1:30 to 3:30 at the state government complex.

This link leads to a special state website containing an enormous "library" of information for respondents.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 18, 2005 06:00 PM
Posted to Indiana Government