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• South Dakota officials sent a letter earlier this year to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees federal health programs and is funding the upgrade, expressing disappointment over changes in the federal agency's original plan for the system's overhaul, the Argus Leader (http://argusne.ws/1h485NY ) reported on Sunday. Since the contract was awarded in 2008, the agency has changed its Medicaid billing requirements, affecting the state's project.
• State Rep. Mark Mickelson has questioned the program, calling it a "classic three-way standoff."
• "The state's tried to fire the vendor," the Sioux Falls Republican said. "CMS wouldn't let us. The state has tried to negotiate a reasonable timeline with the vendor, and the vendor won't negotiate."
• A spokesman for the federal agency in Denver, Mike Fierberg, challenged the characterization that it "forced" the state to mediate with the contractor.
• "We did strongly suggest that it was the best alternative after each side had filed suit against the other," Fierberg told the newspaper in an email. "This was because the (system) work was, by the state's own assessment, at least 60 to 65 percent complete at the time."
• Fierberg added that changing contractors would have caused a lengthy delay because of the bidding process to a find a new company.
• One of the main goals that South Dakota officials had for the new program was to have a tool that would help the state analyze Medicaid data. The system currently being used can pay claims, but it can't provide an analysis, for example, of which providers are getting the most money and whether they are also getting the best results.
• Now the contractor is involved in litigation in Louisiana where the administration of Gov. Bob Jindal canceled a 10-year, $200 million contract after a federal grand jury subpoena to look into how the contract was awarded.
• The Gaithersburg, Md., company filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Louisiana last year and has argued that documents will show it did nothing wrong.
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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Cities across South Dakota could be named the state's capital for a day.
• The office of Gov. Dennis Daugaard says it is now taking applications from communities interested in participating in the program.
• Daugaard typically participates in a walk through Main Street, takes business tours of the town and attends a social hour. He also hosts a roundtable with commu

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