LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 80TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

March 21, 2007

TO:	Honorable Patrick M. Rose, Chair, House Committee on Human Services
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB2215 by Turner (Relating to the integration of the application and eligibility determination processes for the child health plan and children's Medicaid programs.), As Introduced

Since the cost of the bill would depend on the nature and structure of the call center operations proposed, as well as other factors, the cost cannot be determined at this time.

The bill would prohibit the use of private contractors for CHIP and children's Medicaid eligibility processing and would require the state to run the call centers.  It would require an integrated intake system run by state employees.

The Health and Human Services Commission states the cost cannot be estimated at this time for a number of reasons, including: 1) insufficient information on a number of issues related to state vs. contracted duties; 2) difficulty in estimating the costs of shifting team tasks and enrollment broker functions to a single employee (per applicant); 3) the release of cost information at this time may adversely impact the state's position with regard to dissolving the contractual relationship with Accenture and current negotiations with other potential vendors.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

529 Health and Human Services Commission

LBB Staff:

JOB, CL, PP, MB