Another $32MM Down the State IT Hole

Here we go again.

A $32.3 million overhaul of the state's computer system that handles Medicaid health claims for the poor will be delayed by at least 10 months, a state health department official said.

The lagging project means taxpayers could be missing out on administrative cost savings from the new system, which is supposed to replace the 30-year-old current model. It also opens the possibility that Wisconsin might run afoul of a federal deadline to change the way some Medicaid data is reported.

Different contractor, same ....ah....results.

The state's contractor, EDS Corp., of Plano, Texas, missed its May deadline and is now aiming for a March 2008 target date, said health department spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis.

Oh, yeah, there's a running total of State of Wisconsin IT down-the-dumper-dollars:

The Wisconsin State Journal reported in March that the state has spent more than $170 million in state and federal money on other troubled computer projects designed to register voters, process unemployment benefits and handle payroll and benefits for university employees. A blistering state audit released the following month also documented widespread mismanagement on information technology.

As we've said before, the State's IT systems are "fiefdoms." DOT has one, DOA has another, the UW has its own--and God help the legislator, Governor, or taxpayer who gets in there and asks common-sense questions.