One Company Submits Proposal For Medicaid Contract

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Jindal administration says one company submitted a proposal to help the state decide what kind of system it needs for Medicaid claims processing and eligibility determination for the more than $7 billion government health insurance program for the poor.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/1fC2Inb ) First Data is in negotiations with state health agency officials for what is described as "staff augmentation." A decision on the contract award is expected to be reached by Oct. 17. No price has been determined.

Ruth Johnson, a special adviser for the State Division of Administration, said she was shocked to hear that only one firm sought the work.

First Data is described as a global claims processing company.