Further legal action may delay Medicaid contracts

One of the six insurance plans not selected for a new Ohio Medicaid managed care contract has filed suit against the state, potentially delaying the awarding of contracts once again (Source: "Insurer appeals ruling on state Medicaid contracts," Columbus Dispatch, Sept. 4, 2012).

Amerigroup Ohio, Inc. came in sixth after re-scoring of the bids following an earlier round of lawsuits (it had been given the lowest score in the initial scoring). The top-five scoring plans were selected for new managed care contracts. Last month a Frankin County judge dismissed a lawsuit by Aetna after it lost its contract following the re-scoring (click here for the Ohio Health Policy Review story on that ruling).

The Medicaid managed care rebidding is part of a plan by the state to save $1.5 billion over the next two years through a series of changes to the program, including moving about two-thirds  of Medicaid enrollees into managed care plans. The contracts awarded to five health plans represents about $7 billion in business per year.

According to state officials, further delays could push back the state's new Medicaid managed care program for six months, until the end of 2013.