Editorial: Second thoughts - Absent remarkable improvement, the state should cancel the massive contract with a private company hired to screen applicants for state assistance.
Source: Houston Chronicle, July 17, 2006
Since the Texas Health and Human Services Commission approved an $899 million contract with a consortium led by Bermuda-based Accenture, very little has gone right. The people who've paid for the blunders are the state's poor, particularly children and the elderly.
...... At minimum, HHS officials need to develop much tighter monitoring procedures of the new call centers to guarantee proper handling of applications and eligibility screening. Accenture should be financially penalized for its failure to meet promised service levels and its contract revoked if problems continue.