South Carolina Awards IV&V Contract to SLI Global to Assess Implementation of Medicaid and Eligibility Systems

DENVER, CO (August 26, 2016) – SLI Global Solutions, LLC (SLI) is proud to be awarded a contract for Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) services for the South Carolina Replacement Medicaid Management Information System (RMMIS) and the Eligibility Enrollment and Member Management System (EEMMS) projects.

South Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) serves as the single state agency designated to administer the South Carolina Medicaid program in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations and the State Plan for Medical Assistance. Healthy Connections, South Carolina’s Medicaid program provides medical care for the economically disadvantaged who meet state and federal eligibility requirements. SCDHHS is actively engaged in a complex multi-year effort to replace its aging Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS). SCDHHS’ strategy for replacing its MMIS is being developed in response to two key demands. First is an ongoing effort to transform its Medicaid program from a fee for service to mandatory managed care. This key decision ultimately requires an MMIS that is materially different than the Department’s current systems. Secondly is the desire to transform not only technology but business processes, operations and organizational culture. Similarly, the goals for modernizing the EEMMS center on improving citizen experience, shifting eligibility staff focus, redesigning business processes, delivering enhanced services, and interfacing with the federally facilitated marketplace.

Taken together, these two initiatives will fundamentally transform South Carolina’s Medicaid enterprise. The scope and breadth of this endeavor is not without risk. As a means of risk mitigation, SCDHHS has engaged an industry best practice of procuring the services of an IV&V provider to provide the following services:

Perform independent review of major deliverables and processes
Identify areas of risk to systems and schedules
Identify deviations from plans or execution of those plans that jeopardize SCDHHS programs/projects
Ensure findings are documented clearly so the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and SCDHHS can incorporate the findings in its decision-making process
Recommend risk mitigation options and corrective actions

SLI’s contract provides SDDHHS with full-time ongoing IV&V support for the duration of the design, development, and implementation (DDI) effort. The contract starts with a short “Discovery“ phase including a project kickoff meeting and the IV&V Plan. Following the Discovery phase is an 18-month “Monitoring” phase. A second “Monitoring” phase is planned that will end with the completion of the DDI contract.

“SLI is extremely gratified to be selected to assist SCDHHS in achieving its goals and objectives for these mission-critical projects,” said Steven Esposito, SLI’s President of Government Services. “This was a very competitive procurement. SCDHHS received eight proposals from IV&V providers across the nation. SCDHHS’s award to SLI confirms that our standards-based approach configured to the specifics of each project combined with senior SLI IV&V practitioners with deep Medicaid expertise continues to provide real value to our state Medicaid clients.”

“While we understand our IV&V role is to serve as an autonomous entity providing unbiased, independent, vendor-neutral evaluations,” Steve continued “we look forward to working as a collaborative partner with SCDHHS and its contracted vendors to help support a high-quality, on time, and on budget implementation effort.”

About SLI Global Solutions

SLI Global Solutions, LLC helps clients implement high-quality IT solutions through the application of standards-based risk management, quality assurance, project oversight, and software/hardware testing services. SLI’s mission of managing technology risk is embedded in all of our offerings and is the prime driver in our delivery of services and solutions. From planning through implementation, SLI’s team of world-class professionals and thought-leaders serve as quality advocates by safeguarding that IT systems are developed according to agreed-upon standards, fulfilling the business needs/goals, and meeting federal or industry certification criteria. We provide certified professional expertise in project management, governance risk & compliance, software testing & quality assurance, and training for government agencies and commercial clients. For more information, visit www.sligov.com.