The Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s efforts to privatize some of its job functions have gone awry under Accenture; the outsourcing firm awarded an $899 million contract to develop and operate a new eligibility system. For privatization foes and Accenture observers, Texas’ problems could have been avoided had officials bothered to study the company’s track record in other states. Here’s what’s happened elsewhere:
• August, September 2004 – Florida yanks an $87 million help-desk contract with Accenture, then cancels a $46.7 million applications management contract.
• February 2005 – Kansas cancels Accenture contract to develop a new voter file system.
• November, December 2005 – Colorado fires Accenture for lack of progress on a new voter registration system and then fires the firm again for problems associated with its development of a system to track unemployment benefits.
• January 2006 – U.S. Marine Corps terminates Accenture’s six-month, $4.15 million contract to establish a new global supply chain and maintenance system.
• March 9, 2006 – Wyoming pulls its contract with Accenture for failing to meet a Jan. 1 deadline for developing a new voter registration system.
• Ongoing – Wisconsin lawmakers have called on state leaders to sever ties with Accenture for missing a Jan. 1 deadline for implementing a new voter registration system.
This article appears in March 24 • 2006.
