The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) plans to ask the state Legislature for $300 million to address significant delays in processing Medicaid applications. The funding will help hire more than 1,000 new employees and modernize the outdated and much-criticized Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS). If Congress approves, an additional $100 million could come from the federal government.
The initiative is aimed at reducing the current average processing time for Medicaid applications, which is 59 days, well above the federally mandated 45 days, according to the Texas Tribune. . The backlog includes approximately 131,869 pending applications. The proposed improvements are expected to speed up application review and ensure eligible Texans receive benefits more quickly.
Currently, if you apply for Medicaid, you can use the Texas Benefits website or the Your Texas Benefits app. However, the information must be manually entered into the TIERS system by an HHSC staff member.
The system is so broken that staff submit 50,000 maintenance service requests each year.
Undoubtedly, TIERS, with its questionable history, has prevented many Medicaid-eligible children from correctly and quickly re-determining their eligibility during the post-COVID-19 public health emergency relief period. This is the main reason.
Congress authorized the creation of TIERS in 1997 and contracted Accenture for more than $800 million to build it as part of a push to privatize credentialing services under then-Governor Rick Perry’s administration. In 2006, after implementation troubles and significant operational issues, Texas terminated its contract with Accenture. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) then assumed responsibility for the development and maintenance of the system.
It’s a good thing the agency finally asked for a replacement for a system that didn’t work properly to begin with.
