PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Budget officials in Rhode Island say they still don’t know how much money the state will get from a settlement with the company that designed a troubled computer system for benefits programs.
Officials from Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo’s administration said Tuesday they haven’t yet heard how the $50 million payment from Deloitte Consulting LLP will be divided between the state and the federal government, which paid for most of the computer system, The Providence Journal reports.
Raimondo thinks the state should keep $33.2 million out of the $50 million. Lawmakers included that amount in their budget for the fiscal year ending in June. Raimondo’s budget proposal, expected to be released in January, will have to make up the difference if the state receives less.
Raimondo announced in March that Deloitte would remain under contract through June 2021 to operate and maintain the system. As part of the agreement, she said, Deloitte would pay Rhode Island a cash payment and provide additional discounted work.
The state rolled out the system, which handles applications for food stamps, Medicaid and other benefits, in 2016 despite warnings from the federal government that it wasn’t ready. That resulted in a backlog of thousands of applications.
Raimondo said in March it would’ve been too disruptive to switch vendors, given the system’s complexity. It includes benefits programs used by nearly one-third of Rhode Island residents.
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