The Commonwealth of Virginia's Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) has selected Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to implement and operate core systems for Medicaid claims processing and operations. The contract will run for approximately six years, with operations and plan management components totaling $138 million.

Virginia will be the first state to develop and implement a new Medicaid system meeting the latest Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) standards for modularity to enhance system flexibility and responsiveness. Two modules of Accenture's Public Health Platform (APHP), the first software of its kind designed to support evolving Medicaid modularity requirements and healthcare reform, will be implemented as part of Virginia's new Medicaid Enterprise System.

“Accenture is at the forefront of developing and delivering innovative health and human services solutions, and we are excited to move forward helping Virginia implement components of their new Medicaid system,” said Chris Mirro, who leads Accenture's Public Service Health practice in North America. “Our approach is geared toward improving efficiency and flexibility in Medicaid program management, speeding technology deployments and helping control Medicaid costs, benefitting providers, enrollees and program administrators.”

Accenture was awarded the Operations Services and Plan Management components of the Commonwealth's Modular Core Services Solutions (MCSS) contract. DMAS is separately procuring other components and services under MCSS, which will be implemented in conjunction with Accenture's components.

“Virginia’s Medicaid Enterprise System project is a critical step in our work to modernize the business and technical operations at DMAS,” said Dr. Jennifer Lee, Virginia agency director of DMAS. “We are proud to be the first state to move forward with this innovative technology, and look forward to partnering with Accenture to provide cutting edge services to our enrollees and the Commonwealth’s taxpayers.”

Built on a flexible and scalable framework, APHP is a suite of modular components that are highly configurable, designed to enable states to meet the evolving Medicaid Enterprise System requirements, while reducing the time and cost associated with ongoing policy and system changes. It is designed specifically to CMS’ latest Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) standards to support modular deployment in a Medicaid Enterprise while reducing integration risk. With a variety of deployment options, APHP enables states to precisely control and manage their programs and improve outcomes for their citizens.

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