Enhanced Federal Funding Used to Modernize Benefits Systems

Progress offers best-of-breed technology components covered under the A-87 Exception.

On July 20, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) released guidance to States on the OMB Circular A-87 Cost Allocation Exception. This document clarifies the process to take advantage of enhanced federal funding to modernize and integrate benefits eligibility and administration systems.

Enhanced federal funding encourages states to implement and use best-of-breed architecture and technology components across Affordable Care Act (ACA) programs, as well as other benefit programs not directly related to ACA. Examples of covered technology components include client portals, user interfaces and business rules engines.

Incidentally, Progress offers best-of-breed technology components covered under the A-87 Exception. These products are used by more than 50 percent of the states in the U.S. and include the following:

• Progress Corticon: Business rules engine, used to automate eligibility and benefit determination and other tasks governed by rules and regulations
• Telerik Sitefinity CMS: Web content management system, used to build citizen-facing websites that could be used for online applications for benefits or health insurance exchanges
• Telerik Platform: Mobile application development platform, used to build mobile interfaces for the next generation of citizen self-service applications

As more and more governmental organizations across the country modernize and consolidate systems to simplify benefits eligibility determination and administration, they’ll need to take advantage of the A-87 exception to upgrade their technology platforms and tools. This will enable a more streamlined experience for citizens, and more cost-effective use of governmental resources. Most importantly, these solutions will enable faster and more accurate distribution of benefits to the people who need them, such as Medicaid and Medicare patients, and recipients of other programs such as SNAP, WIC, and others.

Interested in learning more? We will be showcasing Corticon at the upcoming APHSA ISM event on August 30-September 2 at booth #705. We hope to see you there. But just in case you aren’t able to make it, hear it straight from Jim Weaver, Deputy CIO at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – Department of Public Welfare, in a recent webinar recording.