$10 million more for medicaid eligibility contract in Nevada

The Board of Examiners voted Tuesday to add another $10 million to the contract to develop and implement the Health Care Reform Eligibility Engine.

Steve Fisher, head of the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, told the board this is the final phase of the Affordable Care Act project and will ensure Nevada meets the requirements of that legislation.

He said previous phases of the contract with Deloitte Consulting have provided staff the ability to determine much more quickly whether someone is eligible for Medicaid.

Where that took 52 days in 2013, he said now “the majority are determined the same day.”

This brings the total contract with Deloitte to $66.25 million but Fisher said 90 percent of that is federal funding. He said it will enable customers to electronically verify eligibility and use the system’s services.

Board Chairman Gov. Brian Sandoval asked whether any of the added funding was in jeopardy from potential changes to the healthcare act by the Trump administration and Congress. Fisher said no, this money has already been approved at the federal level.

In addition, the board approved a $2.28 million contract to develop juvenile justice data sharing services between the counties and state youth facilities.

Child and Family Services Administrator Kelly Wooldridge said Nevada was the only state chosen for this federal grant. She said Nevada spends upward of $95 million a year on juvenile justice, “but had no data to show we were changing lives.” She said this project is designed to produce that data and share it among those involved, enabling everyone to follow people through the different levels of the juvenile justice system.

But she said this grant is just the first of several that will come before the board.

Sandoval said this was one of his five priority bills during the 2017 Legislature.

“It’s going to change lives, identify best practices so young men and women are getting the services they need to change their lifestyle,” he said.

Wooldridge said the Caseloadpro system is already used in 26 other states.