Search Results for: food stamps

Showdown time. The House committee charged with recommending how to use the federal stimulus money does not see eye to eye with Gov. Rick Perry on the $555 million for unemployment insurance. In a 5 to 1 vote, the committee … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This can’t be good. State social services officials now plan to switch 1 million or more needy people in the next year to a different application process for benefits, including Medicaid and food stamps. The state says it intends to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The colossally ineffective TIERS system has been given the go-ahead to expand in Texas, though not by very much. The federal agency that oversees food stamps this week agreed to let Texas expand a new computer enrollment system in a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This Statesman editorial nails it. Because of an effort five years ago to run part of state government more like a business, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is struggling to provide food and medical services to some of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

From the “Stuff I bookmarked then totally forgot to blog about because the primary was so crazy” comes this story about more trouble with the TIERS system. To Texans applying for food stamps, it may not seem to matter whether … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Want to know who’s actually providing services to the HHSC these days? The CPPP is keeping track. Earlier this month, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission released two draft Request for Proposals related to the development and operation of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Back in June, I noted that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) was gearing up to hire a replacement for Accenture to do basically what Accenture had been doing so well before we terminated their contract. Judging from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Two, four, six, eight, welfare reform wasn’t so great. When Texas became one of the first states in the nation to overhaul welfare by insisting the poor work, the governor made a bold prediction. “I believe this bill will make … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One more story from last week to catch me up on current events: The state’s Health and Human Resources Commission has finally realized what everyone else knew to be true months ago and cut bait on Accenture. Texas is drastically … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The top lawyer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission says that yeah, things do suck with Accenture, but they don’t quite suck enough to fire them. “Termination is always a pretty severe remedy, and it’s the one that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers wants to fire Accenture for its poor performance. Sixty state representatives asked the Health and Human Services Commission today to fire the contractor in charge of processing applications for Texas’ low-cost insurance program for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron editorializes about the faxes to nowhere, and in doing so they say what should be done next. Stop further CHIP disenrollments until Accenture meets basic performance levels. Request that the 2007 Legislature reinstate 12-month eligibility for CHIP/Medicaid enrollment. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s time for another stupid and inexcusable screwup by everyone’s favorite privatization project. Three months ago, dozens of documents from Texas containing highly confidential financial and health information began arriving over a fax machine at a Seattle warehouse. Shaun Peck, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Accenture/Texas Health and Human Services outsourcing debacle is getting some attention from Congress. Declaring it a failed experiment that is harming the neediest in the state, a group of Texas congressmen including Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, a San Antonio Democrat, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And the great boondoggle outsourcing of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) to Accenture takes failure to another level. Effective immediately, state workers again will be responsible for processing applications for assistance programs such as food stamps and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) has finally acknowledged the inevitable. Citing long wait times, inadequately trained staff and other problems, state officials announced Wednesday an indefinite delay in expanding privately run call centers statewide to screen applicants … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Our Fiscally Responsible (and, of course, Fearless) Leader is having another go at getting the bills under control In his budget next week, President Bush will propose substantial savings in Medicare, stepping up his efforts to rein in the growing … Continue reading → Continue reading →