Written by Deborah Yetter of the Courier-Journal
Frustrated by Medicaid bureaucracy, Sen. Steve Meredith (R-Leitchfield) pushed a bill through the Kentucky Senate on Wednesday to limit the number of outside companies the state can hire to manage its sprawling Medicaid program.
Senate Bill 30 comes as the state is seeking bids from outside companies for about $8 billion in state Medicaid business. It would limit the state to no more than three such managed care organizations, or MCOs. The state now has five.
SB 30 also comes amid increasing frustration by some lawmakers, including Meredith, a former hospital CEO, about practices of such companies they say are driving up administrative costs for health care providers.
“Let’s reduce the bureaucracy. We don’t need five MCOs,” Meredith said, arguing for SB 30. “All they do is deny and delay payment.”
Currently, the state contracts with five outside health insurance companies to run most of its $11-billion-per-year Medicaid program. Seven companies are now competing for new contracts to be awarded later this year.
(Cross-posted via the Kentucky Press News Service. Read the rest of the article at the Courier-Journal.)
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