Human Services Expects More Than $46B in Proposed Budget

Over the past weekend, the Senate and House sent the General Appropriations Act for 2024-2025 to the state comptroller for certification. Once the $321.3 billion budget is certified, it will head to the governor’s office to be signed.

The proposed biennial state budget allocates $46 billion in 2024 and 2025 — a $7 billion raise — to the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), which provides oversight and administrative support for Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency administers 120 websites and 376 applications, with 183 of those designated as mission-critical.

The proposed budget includes:

• Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) modernization, $106.6 million in 2024 and $159.8 million in 2025. Additional money for the MMIS includes $64 million per annum.
• Data center consolidation, $89.2 million and $87.7 million.
• Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS), $69.6 million per annum.
• Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System (CAPPS), $21 million and $18.5 million.
• Women Infants and Children (WIC) Mosaic, $19.6 million and $850,000.
• HHS cloud data analytics platform, $12 million and $8.6 million.
• State of Texas Automated Information Reporting System (STAIRS) enhancements, $11.3 million in 2024.
• Business process redesign, $2.1 million per annum.

Within the HHSC budget documents, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is slated to receive funding for system replacements and updates. The OIG is charged with prevention, detection, audit, inspection and investigation of fraud, waste and abuse in all HHS program delivery.

Appropriations include:

• Automated System for the OIG (ASOIG) replacement (fraud detection), $3.7 million in 2024 and $3.9 million in 2025.
• Case management system, $2.4 million and $720,000.
• Automation of beneficiary evidence gathering tool, $1.3 million and $1.4 million.
• Waste, abuse and fraud electronic reporting system replacement, $1.2 million and $814,999.