« Ind. Courts - Hagen files for recount in Noble judge race | Main | Ind. Gov't. - "Daniels' emphasis on ethics opens the door to scrutiny " »

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Ind. Gov't. - The Roob-FSSA's business approach

The AP's Ken Kusmer has a very good story today surveying how the FSSA operates under Mitch Roob. Part of the story focuses on the mega-contract the agency is about to award:

Controversy likely will flare again around FSSA once it picks the winner of the largest contract in state history. Two teams of vendors - each vulnerable to criticism - are vying for a deal estimated at $1 billion over 10 years to take over applications for Medicaid, food stamps, welfare and other benefits received by one in six Indiana residents. Critics went to work months ago gathering information on the out-of-state companies leading each team.

FSSA changed the timeline for awarding the contract after The Associated Press reported the agency would not hold a public hearing until after the contract was awarded. The agency now plans a hearing June 30, five days before the deal is due to be awarded. * * *

Roob, in awarding the state's largest contract ever, will choose between two teams of vendors, one led by Bahamas-based Accenture LLP and the other by IBM and Affiliated Computer Systems Inc., or ACS. The two teams submitted their final offers last week.

Accenture leads a similar team of vendors in Texas currently coming under harsh criticism for problems rolling out that state's privatized benefits system. ACS, based in Texas, has had its own problems: It lost part of a Georgia contract two years ago when it ran into problems processing claims for Medicaid and the state's health insurance program for low-income children.

Roob, who has modeled Indiana's program after Texas's, said FSSA has been preparing to outsource benefit applications for more that a year and will phase in the change over at least two years. He also said he has aides closely following developments in Texas. "I think we would be imprudent not to learn from others and not learn from the hiccups that others have had," he said.

(This Nov. 18, 2005 ILB entry quotes from an earlier Kusmer story on the upcoming mega-contract.)

Gary Welsh of Advance Indiana posted earlier today on the AP story and provided some essential background information:

Nowhere in the article does it mention the obvious conflict of interest Roob faces in making a decision on whom to award the biggest contract in the state's history. * * * [Roob worked at ACS.] At ACS, Roob served as Vice President responsible for client relations in the Midwest and developing an integrated response to the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA).
Here are ILB entries from Dec. 8 and Dec. 9, 2004, on the Roob appointment.

And here is a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services biography of E. Mitchell (“Mitch”) Roob, Jr. Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Secretary. It indicates that he came to the Indiana job directly from ACS.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 13, 2006 02:13 PM
Posted to Indiana Government