Now it's time to manage?

Now that the special session has ended, the governor and the Health and Family Services secretary have begun their work to move all Medicaid enrollees to managed care in the commonwealth.

Yesterday, CHFS Secretary Janie Miller released a statement announcing that her cabinet had issued a request for proposal (RFP) seeking proposals from managed care organizations (MCOs). The deadline for responses to the RFP is May 25, and the target date to have contracts in place is July 1.

Sec. Miller announced this was a "milestone" for Kentucky's Medicaid program. Miller stated, "We must aggressively pursue ways to better manage health care services and control rising costs. Managed care is a proven strategy that has been tested in both the public and private sectors."

But the question remains, if the secretary is so confident about the potential success of managed care, why did the governor veto an independent audit of managed care savings? Will the state be able to save enough to make up for this year's budgetary mess? Time will surely tell.