Nebraska officials delay selection of contractors managing $1.8 billion program

LINCOLN — Nebraska officers introduced Tuesday that they’re taking extra time to evaluation the 5 corporations that bid to handle a part of the state’s $1.8 billion Medicaid program.

State Medicaid Director Kevin Bagley stated the successful bids might be introduced Sept. 23, as an alternative of Wednesday as beforehand deliberate. He stated the delay will enable time to interview every of the businesses and rating the interviews.

“Our objective has been to do that proper, even when it takes a while,” he stated. “We all know stakeholders are desirous to be taught who might be chosen for the following managed care contracts, and we admire their endurance as we meet with the bidders to make sure the best plans are trusted with the look after our Medicaid beneficiaries.”

The successful bidders will handle bodily and behavioral well being care, pharmacy companies and dental advantages for nearly all Medicaid sufferers in a program referred to as Heritage Well being. Collectively, they are going to oversee the care of some 347,000 Nebraskans. 

The brand new contracts are slated to begin July 1, 2023, and final by means of at the very least 2028.

The bidders embrace all three corporations with present Heritage Well being contracts. They’re: Neighborhood Care Plan of Nebraska, doing enterprise as Wholesome Blue; Nebraska Whole Care; and UnitedHealth Care of the Midlands, which operates as United HealthCare Neighborhood Plan of Nebraska. 

The 2 further bidders embrace Medica Neighborhood Well being Plan, which at present provides well being protection to Nebraskans by means of the Inexpensive Care Act Market, and Molina Healthcare of Nebraska, which supplies Medicaid, Medicare and ACA Market plans in a number of different states. 

Bagley stated that every of bidders supplied high quality bids to the state. The interviews are an optionally available a part of the procurement course of. He stated they are going to enable the Medicaid program to ask further questions of every of the bidders, which can help in figuring out which corporations are greatest suited to the job.

State lawmakers have criticized the state procurement course of after at the very least three instances wherein the method led to the collection of a low-cost bidder that ended up failing to do the job. The latest instance was the problematic 2019 contract with the Kansas-based St. Francis Ministries.

St. Francis acquired the job of managing metro-area baby welfare instances by underbidding the contract, then negotiated a 55% enhance in funds when monetary shortfalls almost compelled its Omaha operations to close down. In the meantime, the personal nonprofit by no means met contract phrases or complied with state legal guidelines limiting caseload sizes.

The contract has since been terminated and oversight of kid welfare instances transferred again to state staff. 

A legislation handed this yr requires the state Division of Administrative Providers, which handles procurement for the state, to rent a marketing consultant to guage the procurement course of. The marketing consultant’s report is due by Nov. 15, giving lawmakers time to craft laws for the 2023 session.

The present Heritage Well being contracts date to 2017, when the state signed with three personal corporations to manage what was then $1.2 billion price of Medicaid companies. Since then, two of the unique three corporations merged, which led to the state signing a contract with Wholesome Blue.

Heritage Well being doesn’t cowl nursing residence care and different long-term help and companies for the aged and folks with disabilities.