Kentucky moves Medicaid to managed care

Yesterday, Gov. Beshear hosted a press conference announcing the move of Kentucky's Medicaid population to managed care.

The state has selected three new companies to manage the commonwealth's Medicaid population: CoventryCares, WellCare, and Centene Corp. Each has signed a three-year contract. Meanwhile, the state renewed Passport Health Plan's contract for one more year.

In a press conference yesterday, the governor said the move will save the state $375 million in general fund expenditures over the next three years.

The goal is to move Medicaid enrollees onto one of these three plans by October 1; however, a federal waiver for the state's move has not yet been approved.

As the new Bluegrass Institute report discussed, Kentucky Medicaid spending is growing at an unsustainable pace. Will this move be what the state needs to get the program on track?

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.