Pilots

Funded Pilots: The Partnership Fund has awarded $8.25 million to five pilot projects. These investments, which together could lead to up to $200 million or more in annual savings if successfully scaled up, will provide hard data about how Federal agencies, as well as States and localities, can reduce improper payments, save money and significantly improve service delivery and efficiency.

• Assessing State Data for Determining EITC Eligibility: Determining the usefulness of data from state-administered assistance programs in verifying eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
• Improving Medicaid Provider Eligibility through State Shared Services: Testing how sharing a Medicaid provider enrollment system among a group of states may help the program operate more efficiently.
• Accessing Financial Institutions' Data for Employment Detection: Testing how financial institution data could be used by states to reduce overpayments in the unemployment insurance program.
• State Debt Recovery via the Treasury Offset Program (TOP): Running a simulation of expanding the use of Treasury offsets for state programs that have Federal financial participation.
• National Accuracy Clearinghouse: Testing how facilitating access to program information across states for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and other programs could improve program efficiency and reduce duplicate participation.
• Automating the Provider Enrollment Process for Risk Assessment and Comparative Analysis: Testing an automated tool that can screen for risk of provider fraud across Medicaid and Medicare.

Examples of Programs: Examples of Federally funded, state-administered assistance programs relevant to the goals of the Partnership Fund include the programs listed below. This list is not exhaustive; other programs may also be included in idea submissions.

• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – formerly Food Stamps)
• Medicaid
• Unemployment Insurance (UI)
• Child Welfare
• Child Care
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

Examples of Pilots: Pilots will emphasize the Partnership Fund’s four goals: service delivery, payment accuracy, administrative efficiency, and program access. Examples of the types of pilots that could be supported include:

• Pilots that simplify or streamline processes for application, eligibility determination, and confirmation of continued eligibility
• Pilots that promote or utilize data matching and information sharing across programs
• Pilots that test integrated applications, screening, and verification for multiple benefit programs

The Ideal Pilot: Components of the ideal pilot are listed below. Not every pilot concept considered for funding will meet all of these criteria, and the size and scope of the pilot projects funded may vary widely. With that said, the ideal pilot will:

• Have the potential to be replicated and sustained on a larger scale
• Address elements of the Partnership Fund’s four goals
• Address multiple programs and/or otherwise bridge organizational silos
• Yield measurable results in 9 to 18 months to suggest replication or expansion and demonstrate how successfully the pilot meets the Partnership Fund's four goals
• Support the statutory requirement that the pilot projects funded by the Partnership Fund be cost neutral in the aggregate