Kentucky Moves Step Closer to New Medicaid Plan (KY)

May 26, 2011

With the bid deadline past, Kentucky has moved closer to turning mo st of its Medicaid program over to outside managed care organizations — a move the state hopes will improve efficiency and cut costs in the $6.5 billion-a-year health plan for the poor and disabled.

Officials refused to identify any of the bidders who met the 3:30 p.m. Wednesday deadline, citing confidentiality of the bidding process.

Don Speer, who is overseeing the bids for the state Finance and Administration Cabinet, declined even to say how many companies entered bids.

“I cannot tell you the number of bids the state has received,” he said in an e-mail, citing rules that govern state procurement.

The suspense has advocates, health professionals and others affected by the changes on edge as they wait for the state to select a vendor or vendors.

“We are very interested to see what decisions they make,” said Marty White, spokesman for the Kentucky Medical Association. “The decisions they make now are going to be critical.”

At one least major player — Louisville-based Humana — did not bid.

“After careful consideration and review, Humana chose not to submit a bid,” spokesman Jim Turner said without elaborating.

The proposed changes will dramatically reshape the program for more than 500,000 of the roughly 820,000 Kentuckians who depend on Medicaid for health care. It will not affect those in nursing homes or in certain programs that serve individuals with mental disabilities.

Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration contends it can use managed care to save about $139 million in Medicaid costs next year and deal with a shortfall in state funding for the program.

The federal government pays about 70 percent of Medicaid costs in Kentucky.

State officials have said they will award a contract or contracts by July 1, the start of the next fiscal year. Patient advocates say they worry about how the state w ill move hundreds of thousands of patients to new managed care systems after that date.

“We want to make sure people are able to access their doctors and access to care is not threatened,” said Jodi Mitchell, executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health, a health care coalition. “There’s a lot that has to happen to make this a smooth process.”