Nebraska dumps 2 major system upgrades, costing state $12M

The state of Nebraska has abandoned two major computer system upgrades for different agencies after spending more than $12 million combined on them.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that officials acknowledged Wednesday that the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services had pulled the plug on a $84 million contract to create a new Medicaid eligibility and enrollment system.

Medicaid Director Matthew Van Patton says the contract was suspended in September -- after the state had already spent $6 million on it -- because state officials and a consulting firm raised concerns about the pace of work.

No decisions on how to move forward on that project have been made.

The second project of $12 million to consolidate five personnel and budget systems at the Department of Administrative Services was dumped after running into snags. The state had also spent $6 million on that project before calling it off.

The state has opted instead to upgrade the existing system at a cost of about $900,000.