By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
It’s back to the drawing board for the state’s Medicaid Managed Care contracts.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced he is canceling and rebidding the contracts approved in the waning days of the Bevin administration.
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol, Beshear said, “The people of Kentucky should have confidence in the process that ultimately awarded over $8 billion in those contracts.”
Beshear said there are several reasons for his action in canceling and rebidding the contracts:
–The original request for proposals, or RFP, included the Bevin administration’s Medicaid waiver, which Beshear ended last week.
–The contracts were awarded with just 11 days left in the Bevin administration.
–Public comments by Bevin and concerns about bias against Passport, one of the bidders.
–The General Assembly’s Government Contract Review Committee unanimously rejected the contracts, which the Finance Cabinet overruled and approved them.
Beshear said a new request for proposals will be issued soon.
“The RFP will be available in January, with a target date of January 10. Responses will be due one month later, with a target date of February 7. The bids will be scored and providers will be selected, hopefully, in April.”
He noted, they may have to get a brief extension of current contracts, to prevent a loss of coverage for anyone before the new one is in place; and that his power to cancel a contract is standard language in all state agreements.
“This decision has nothing to do with who won and who lost in the initial process,” Beshear said. “The rebidding will be fair, no one is guaranteed a contract, no one. My job is to do my best to provide high-quality healthcare to our people, and that’s what I’m focused on. Anyone and everyone can bid during that process.”
Beshear added, “We had additional concerns with the timetable of the contract process from when the Bevin Administration announced it, to when the new contracts would take place. We thought a lot of people might fall through the cracks, so we’re going to make sure that there is sufficient time, and that we do it right.
Aetna Better Health of Kentucky, Humana Health Plan, Inc., Molina Healthcare of Kentucky, UnitedHealthcare DBA UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kentucky, and WellCare Health Insurance of Kentucky won the contracts from the Bevin Administration to serve Kentucky’s approximately 1.3 million Medicaid beneficiaries beginning July 1, 2020, when the current contracts expire.
Molina and UnitedHealthcare replaced Passport Health and Anthem Kentucky in those contracts, which Beshear canceled.