Jennifer Saha Posts

On Thursday, July 20th, senior officials from the UDSA’s Food and Nutrition Services Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) came to talk to HSITAG members about the issues that keep them up at night as well as their outlook on the future of HHS IT funding and projects. With uncertainty surrounding the future of the Affordable Care Act, as well as changes in federal administration priorities, members of HSITAG have been following closely any rumored changes to healthcare and the impacts on technology funding.

For the first time in the history of the Human Services Information Technology Advisory Group (HSITAG), the group convened in Sacramento to hear from State of California leadership earlier this month. While venturing this far west was quite the journey for our traditionally east coast membership contingent, over 50 people were in the room to hear from an extended half day of guests.

The State of Florida’s Department of Management Services has recently proposed some changes to their standard terms and conditions for state contracts. The state’s Agency for State Technology recently survived an attempt to decentralize technology funding, estimated at more than $700m annually. The proposed changes to the state’s standard terms and conditions take the state in the wrong direction. CompTIA expressed some concerns with the proposed changes and, with $700 million on the line in technology spending annually, we are hopeful that Florida hears our concerns and takes them to heart.

At CompTIA’s Annual Member Meeting last month, Jared Linder, CIO of the State of Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration, gave us an update on what’s happening in HHS IT in the state.

When the federal government opens up a new line of business related to technology, the industry takes notice. This happened over the past few years with the evolution of the Technology Transformation Service (TTS) and its predecessors like the office of citizen services and innovative technology, the presidential innovation fellows and 18F.

Coming off a surprising federal election in December, the Human Services Information Technology Advisory Group (HSITAG) heard from national association leaders about their predictions on the future of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under a new administration. While a lot is still unknown and much to be revealed in the New Year, the one thing that the group agreed on (and has been publicly stated) is that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as we know it will go away – at least in part.

Sacramento State University recently hosted a series of events to examine what is possible when government and technology interface. CompTIA’s SLED Council is a big supporter of the Sac State Policy and Politics program and even sponsored a $5,000 scholarship for a graduate student in 2016.

Last week, I testified in front of the Idaho Legislature’s State Procurement Laws Committee on the need to modernize IT procurement. Idaho, like many states around the nation, has modeled IT procurements according to legislative direction but that direction is intentionally broad and allows considerable policy-setting flexibility to the procurement oversight agency within the state. The state agency and administrators set the standard terms and conditions that dictate which companies will bid on contracts and thus, influence the technologies implemented within the state.

The question that governments face, and constantly have different answers to, is, “should we outsource or should we do this in-house?” The answer, over time, has really depended on which is cheaper. This is the way it should be. As a shepherd of public funds, governments must constantly strive to achieve their goals with the least amount of money and resources invested.