ACS Signs $27 Million Medicaid Contract with Alaska

Affiliated Computer Services announced the award of a $27 million, 21-month contract for the transition of the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) for the state of Alaska's Department of Health and Social Services.

Previously in October 2007, ACS signed a $130 million, 10-year contract with Alaska to design, develop, implement and operate a new MMIS system. Now, as part of a separate transition contract, ACS will assume all fiscal agent services included in the state's former MMIS vendor's contract. ACS now will administer claims processing, recipient helpline, pharmacy drug rebate and retrospective drug utilization review, system enhancement, EDI support, pharmacy help desk and preferred drug list services.

"I am extremely pleased with ACS' responsiveness to our needs. The department sees ACS as a strong partner in fulfilling our vision of maintaining access to health care and providing health coverage to Alaskans in need," said Bill Streur, Deputy Commissioner for Alaska's Medicaid and Health Policy. "ACS demonstrates full understanding and joins us in our sense of urgency to improving administration of the medical assistance program, particularly in serving the needs of our residents and the dedicated provider community."

"This contract is recognition by the state of Alaska of ACS' strong commitment to providing quality services and systems for Medicaid programs across the country," said Christopher Deelsnyder, senior VP and managing director for ACS Government Healthcare Solutions.

As part of the long-term contract, ACS said it will provide Alaska with its Health Enterprise solution, a Medicaid system for the healthcare market. This system is currently being developed for use by the states of New Hampshire and North Dakota. Its web- based suite of technologies includes solutions for administering the Medicaid enterprise. At the core of Health Enterprise is a set of applications and data analytics used to support administration of the Medicaid enterprise, such as member and provider management, waivers, managed care, disease management, pharmacy programs, eligibility, claims processing and third-party liability.

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