MNsure taps Deloitte to finish website

April 16--Deloitte Consulting on Wednesday took on the job of bringing the MNsure website and complex IT system up to snuff.

The company, which was a top contender in 2012 for the contract to build the online health exchange, has agreed to a $4.95 million contract with the state for an initial nine months of work, according to MNsure officials.

The contract must still be approved by the federal government, but MNsure interim CEO Scott Leitz said he expects approval to come within two weeks.

Deloitte has built successful state-based insurance exchanges in Connecticut, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Washington. The New York-based company recently signed a contract worth a reported $40 million to $50 million with Maryland, whose troubled insurance exchange was built using the same suite of original vendors as Minnesota. It also is now working with Nevada.

Deloitte's Kevin Kelly told the MNsure board of directors Wednesday that the firm will base its work in Minnesota on success it has had in other states.

"This is not a look backward, it's a look forward," Kelly said.

With the next round of open enrollment set to begin on Nov. 15, the pressure is on to resolve a number of key issues, including how county workers, insurance brokers and insurance carriers access the system.

MNsure has improved since its rocky start, and has signed up 185,000 people to date. But many "back end" operations that consumers don't see still rely on time-consuming manual processes, including the important handoff between MNsure and insurance carriers. Those unresolved issues have led to confusion during the enrollment process and delays for people getting their insurance cards.

Deloitte, which was awarded the contract after a competitive bidding process among seven companies, will prepare an in-depth analysis during its first 60 days that will help MNsure officials determine what to do with its existing system, including the problematic software developed by IBM/Curam.

Leitz said for now, Deloitte will work with MNsure's existing vendors, but expects clearer direction within 30 to 60 days in order to make a decision about "which way we need to go next."

Deloitte's duties include program and project management, project planning, functional and technical systems assessment, defect and issue tracking and help with leadership and planning of user testing, according to the state.

The assessment will include what needs t to be done for open enrollment in the fall, as well as what MNsure needs in the long run, said Steve Dahl, Deloitte's lead client service partner in Minnesota.

Deloitte will be paid out of existing federal grants, and will be part of a $10 million chunk that MNsure set aside this year to pay for its IT efforts.

Minnesota has received federal grants worth nearly $155 million, which was earmarked to hire outside contractors, pay staff and operate the system in the first year.

The state's original prime vendor, Reston, Va.,-based Maximus, has not had a lead project management role since January.

Maximus hired three outside contractors to create MNsure's complex IT structure, which must connect to a federal "hub" of databases to verify such things as citizenship and income, and also tie into various state-based computer systems that manage public health programs for low-income Minnesotans.

Leitz said he was eager to get working with Deloitte, who earned higher scores than competitors.

"They have a great track record and they're a great organization," he said.

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