Health Information Exchange Featured Article

June 28, 2012

Accenture to Set Up Statewide Health Insurance Exchange in California



The State of California has reportedly chosen Accenture to implement a $359-million statewide health insurance exchange (HIE), the California Healthcare Enrollment, Eligibility and Retention System (CalHEERS).

HIEs, set up to link doctors and patient records across states for less costly and more streamlined provision of care, were a critical part of the Obama Administration’s Affordable Care Act.

Of that amount, $183 million is planned for the initial development and implementation and $176 million for continued development and operating costs over approximately three and a half years following the implementation.

Accenture will develop a system to allow Californians to figure out their “eligibility for subsidized health benefits, compare insurance plan options and enroll in coverage, to begin pre-enrollment in health plans ahead of the January 2014 Federal deadline for all states to implement a health insurance exchange,” according to a news release.

The CalHEERS project will use the Accenture Public Service Platform (APSP) and the Accenture Health Benefits Exchange (AHBX), software products designed to help public agencies modernize IT capabilities and manage citizen services in an integrated, cost-effective and customer-friendly manner.

GetInsured will provide health insurance exchange software, while other  Accenture subcontractors on the assignment include CGI and Oracle.

California had 6.4 million residents without health insurance, about a fifth of the population under 65, in 2007. Today's recent decision by the Supreme Court on the individual healthcare mandate will naturally have a big impact on how Americans get medicine and medical insurance.

"California is among the leading U.S. states to build an exchange to increase the number of citizens with health insurance, improve the quality of health services, lower healthcare costs and reduce health disparities," said Stephen J. Rohleder, group chief executive, Accenture Health & Public Service. "Accenture is eager to help California launch this upgrade in health and human services, an innovative, competitive marketplace that empowers consumers to find and choose best-value health plans and providers."




Edited by Braden Becker
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