Georgia dumped Vitech....isn't this the same company that STRS contracted with for 60+ million dollars?

"She called the March contract "tainted with fraud" and said Vitech claimed in its original proposal that it had developed a similar working system."

"My folks and state employees in general have had double-digit percentage increases over the last few years," said Callahan. "So more and more money is going into the system and we have less benefits, less ease of use and less utility today than we had before. And we have just thrown $7 million down a rat hole."
Local State wants out of $9.4 million contract

The Associated Press
2007-05-25 08:49:14.0

ATLANTA - Georgia is scrapping a $9.4 million contract for an online employee benefits program that remains incomplete after several delays.

The state wants back the $7.2 million it already has spent on the project, which was scheduled to be completed last year by New York-based Vitech Systems Group Inc. But Vitech says it won't return the money.

The state sent a letter to Vitech on Thursday ending the contract, and state officials are considering finding another company to finish the system, State Community Health Commissioner Rhonda Medows told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For now, the project is on hold, while the state agency prepares for October open enrollment for government employees, she said.

"We have an incomplete system that is unsatisfactory," said Medows, who was appointed a year after Vitech's contract was approved. "I will not implement a system that I believe will fail."

She called the March contract "tainted with fraud" and said Vitech claimed in its original proposal that it had developed a similar working system.

Vitech officials denied the allegations. The company is not recognizing the contract cancellation despite Thursday's letter, said James Vitiello, Vitech's vice president.

Medows said the state will pursue "whatever legal avenues are available" if Vitech does not return the money.

Tim Callahan, a spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, said state employees want to believe state money is "being spent well and wisely."

"My folks and state employees in general have had double-digit percentage increases over the last few years," said Callahan. "So more and more money is going into the system and we have less benefits, less ease of use and less utility today than we had before. And we have just thrown $7 million down a rat hole."

The system Vitech was hired to design would handle enrollments, eligibility and billing for the State Health Benefit Plan, which provides insurance to 670,894 employees, retirees and their dependents. Vitech was hired in November 2004 to create the paperless system.

This is the second time the state has dumped a contract dealing with the State Health Benenfit Plan. In 2003, the state canceled a portion of a $350 million contract with a Texas company hired to administer state health benefits.

The state said Affiliated Computer Services Inc. missed a critical deadline for setting up an enrollment system for employees and their families.

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com