Governor Beshear Rebidding Medicaid Managed Care Contracts

FRANKFORT, Kentucky, Dec. 24 -- Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Kentucky, issued the following news:

After ending the prior administration's Medicaid waiver last week that threatened the health care of nearly 100,000 Kentuckians, Governor Andy Beshear announced he is canceling and rebidding the state's Medicaid managed care contracts.

"I believe health care is a basic human right and that every family should be able to see a doctor when they are sick," Gov. Beshear said. "Given the way the previous administration handled this process and lasting public concerns, the only option I had was to cancel the contracts and rebid. Moving forward we must ensure a fair and transparent process and meet every Kentuckians' health care needs."

The reasons behind Gov. Beshear's actions include:

* The original request for proposal (RFP) included the previous administration's Medicaid waiver, which was ended last week by Gov. Beshear.

* The previous administration awarded nearly $8 billion in contracts to five providers with just 11 days left in office.

* Public comments by the previous governor and concerns regarding bias against one of the bidders.

* Members of the General Assembly's Government Contract Review Committee unanimously voted to reject the contracts, Dec. 9, the final day of the previous administration.

An RFP will be issued with a target date of Jan. 10 or earlier. Through a competitively bid process the administration has a goal of selecting providers in the spring.

Ensuring access to affordable health care is a top priority for Gov. Beshear and his administration.

Last week, Gov. Beshear's administration notified the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that he was ending the 1115 demonstration project, known as "Kentucky HEALTH," that required Kentuckians to meet certain work requirements in order to have health insurance coverage.

Gov. Beshear also signed an executive order to protect the state's Medicaid expansion program, which provides health care coverage to nearly 500,000 Kentuckians.

The governor also effectively ended Kentucky's litigation involving the waiver in federal court (the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia), and has asked the court to dismiss Kentucky from the lawsuit.