Medicare, Medicaid IT Support Contract Goes to HP

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services has received a $26 million order to continue its IT support for the Department of Health and Human Services' CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) division. Under the contract, announced Oct. 13, HP will maintain an IDR (Integrated Data Repository) for CMS and provide services to improve the accuracy of Medicare payment data.

According to CMS, an IDR is the backbone of the agency's enterprise IT efforts. It involves the integration of Medicare claims, data on providers and health plans as well as the data services the NLR (National Level Repository) uses. HP was first awarded a contract to monitor NLR data quality in 2007.

From NLR data, CMS will be able to determine which health care professionals and hospitals are eligible for stimulus funds under HITECH (the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act).

HP has worked with Medicare and Medicaid clients for 44 years, handling 35 percent of those claims in the United States and accounting for 2.4 billion health care transactions per year, the company reports. Under the new contract, HP will provide analysis of IDR data and monitor data feeds for accuracy and timeliness. HP will also combine data from separate repositories and establish and perform database backup and recovery.

For more, read the eWeek article HP Awarded $26 Million Contract for Medicare, Medicaid IT Support.