04.06.06
The Privatization Myth, Exposed, Again
Off The Kuff has most of it here, HHSC delays call center rollout. Remember as you read through this all those stories “conservatives” and Republicans always tell you about how the private sector can do it better and more efficient than the public sector:
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) has finally acknowledged the inevitable.
Citing long wait times, inadequately trained staff and other problems, state officials announced Wednesday an indefinite delay in expanding privately run call centers statewide to screen applicants for health and welfare benefits.
With high hopes of saving $646 million over five years, Texas planned to roll out the private call centers statewide this year.
But a pilot center in Central Texas has produced a higher-than-expected volume of calls that are taking longer because the questions are too complicated for too few, inadequately trained staffers to answer, officials said.
More here from the AAS story, Benefits call center plan put on hold:
The delay does not affect the pilot program in Travis and Hays counties.
But it is likely to affect state officials’ projected cost savings of $646 million over five years, although Hawkins couldn’t say by how much. Texas is paying $899 million over five years for the system to the Texas Access Alliance, a private consortium anchored by Accenture LLP.
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, had called for the state to slow the rollout.
“People aren’t getting the services they need,” he said. “They’re not getting a lot of help, they’re getting bounced around, their questions are not being answered at all or they’re being given wrong information.” But news of the delay was disappointing to Mary Katherine Stout, health policy analyst for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based research institute that advocates limited government.
“It’s very important that a temporary delay not turn into a reversal of policy,” she said. “Many people are already making use of some of these more convenient ways to apply for benefits. We know that this is much more efficient.”
Notice the Democrat is concerned that those in need aren’t getting what they need and the “right-wing-think-tanker” is just worried that they might kill this precious give away of tax payer money to a corporation. The only thing guaranteed here is that at least 2,900 state workers will be out of work and that eventually this will wind up costing way more than originally planned for.