State & Local Weekly News Wrap-Up

By Timothy Brett posted Mar 22,2012 09:55 AM

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MULTI-JURISDISDICTION

Louisiana is examining an education reform package being advanced by Governor Bobby Jindhal that would tie teacher job security to how they fared on external performance metrics. The Iowa House has passed a slate of education reforms that would require yearly evaluations for school teachers, a test for graduating high school seniors and an extra hour of class time each day for kids in state-funded preschool programs. Supported by No Child Left Behind Waivers and movements across the country to look at performance based pay for teachers, several states have been looking at ways to change how teachers are evaluated. The changes are supported by federal programs including Race to the Top which requires performance based provisions to be part of educational systems in order to apply for merit-based grant funding. The Louisiana package being put forward by Governor Jindhal would reduce considerations for seniority and tenure focusing instead on student performance. In Iowa, Governor Branstad is encouraging legislators to “be bold,” on passing reforms. Education has been a key focus of the Branstad administration and the Governor has been very vocal in his wishes for change. Currently teacher evaluations happen every three years, under the new bill formal evaluations would continue on that timeline with yearly peer review evaluations happening every year. High school seniors would also be required to pass a skills test before graduating high school. Iowa, Louisiana move on education reform

The Homeland Security Department has funneled $35 billion to states and local governments since 2003 to increase disaster preparedness, but nearly a quarter of the funds remain unspent, according to testimony offered at a recent congressional hearing. The federal funding pays for equipment and training for emergency responders, as well as for planning and for technology and communications upgrades. As of January 2012, about $8 billion of the $35 billion was still unspent, Elizabeth Harmon, assistant administrator for FEMA’s grant programs directorate, told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Response, Preparedness and Communication.“It is important to understand that these funds are not idle,” Harmon said. “Work is being done, projects are underway, and capabilities are being built in accordance with the rules and guidelines under which these grants were awarded. That said, the fact remains that for a number of reasons…some grant funds are spent at a slower rate than other grant funds.” The reasons include state and federal laws and regulations, environmental and historic reviews and state and local procurement and budgeting regulations, she added. Billions in FEMA grants still unspent

CALIFORNIA

Xerox recently announced that it is managing the claims processing system for California Medicaid. The program known as Medi-Cal is the nation’s largest and serves 7.5 million people, according to the company statement.The announced transfer of the Medicaid Management Information System, or MMIS, to Xerox is a critical milestone in the 10-year, $1.6 billion contract signed in 2010 by ACS, which was acquired by Xerox in February 2010 and now goes to market under the Xerox brand. Xerox assumed operational responsibility in October 2011, but only publicly announced its role now. The company best known for its printing and duplicating machines has processed more than 90 million claims totaling $7.5 billion since then. Xerox said it intends to make the program’s information system more efficient and give the state more control over how it pays health care providers including physicians, pharmacies and hospitals. Xerox takes over $1.6B Medi-Cal claims processing contract

CONTRACTING/ACQUISITION

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene awarded Computer Sciences Corp. a contract to replace the state’s Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) and provide fiscal agent services for selected DHMH programs. The contract has a five-year base period with three two-year options, bringing the estimated total value to $297 million. Under the terms of the agreement, CSC will develop and implement a new enterprise MMIS solution for healthcare administration supporting the Department. CSC Wins Contract to Replace Maryland’s Medicaid Management Information System

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