Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Kentucky's move to managed care delayed

Last spring, to address a $100 million plus Medicaid budget deficit, the governor proposed borrowing from the 2012 budget and making up the loan by moving the state's Medicaid population to managed care. His plan ultimately passed, but not without much debate and line item vetoes.

This summer, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) has been coordinating the details of the transition. In July, the contracts were announced with a promise for an October 1 start date. After the federal government approved the state's request for a waiver to move the program to managed care, CHFS again promised October 1 would mark the official implementation of managed care.

Yesterday, CHFS announced they would delay implementation one month further to November 1st, citing the delay was a response to the request by the Kentucky Hospital Association for more time.

While the savings of the move have already been announced, the question remains, how will the delay impact the fiscal future of the state and the program? How will the Medicaid budget and health care providers fare in this move? Most importantly, how will Kentucky's most vulnerable citizens be affected?

Our concern is that this move is only piecemeal reform; it does not address the fundamental problems inherent in Kentucky's system. Our recent report, An Unsustainable Path, seeks to diagnose the real problems and lay out a clear path towards a more sustainable future.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Go Bluegrass Institute.

Your call for transparency on Beshear's plan for savings and his latest projections after the managed care providers have signed on the dotted line is great.

First we got the theory - all Beshear's pontifications without any substance.

Now we have reality - how many providers have really signed up so far and the impact of the first delay.

It's time for Beshear to put his facts on the table so we can all see how well his negotiated contracts, implementation plans, etc. are working.

It's time for all that transparency he promised on the stump.

Logan said...

Anon:

You are correct. It is time for all that transparency talk to come to fruition.

Transparency is the bedrock of an accountable government and BIPPS plans to keep forcing it as an issue!