Health and Human Services WIC Migration Now Up for Bid

The Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), on behalf of Health and Human Services, has published a request for offers (RFO) to migrate the state’s Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system to an end-to-end cloud-based system for those in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

The requested EBT services will provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and TANF-State Program (TANF-SP) benefits to eligible Texas citizens.

The request comes after the agency published at least one pre-solicitation notice late last year, and the response deadline is at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 23.

The agency seeks a contractor to “transition an offline EBT system to an end-to-end cloud-based online EBT System and provide services for the WIC User Community,” according to solicitation No. HHS0013393.

According to the notice, the chosen vendor will “support Access and Eligibility Services (AES) in developing, implementing and managing financial systems such as EBT, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), financial network services and transaction processing systems.”

For context, HHSC has $21.6 million in the state budget “for a WIC EBT online transition” for an 11-member WIC user community including Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, the Cherokee Nation and multiple pueblos in New Mexico. Arkansas has been included in the RFP as a potential future participant.

The detailed RFP is posted at the Texas SmartBuy website with vendor search number 529. Submissions may be made via USB drives or the HHS Online Bid Room. The contact for this RFP is Lauren Contreras.