State health officials hire Medicaid consultants, sign contract for nearly $1.5 million

Nov. 23--State health officials have hired a national team of health care policy experts who specialize in helping states design and implement specialized Medicaid programs through a waiver granted by the federal government.

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority finalized a contract Thursday to pay no more than $1.49 million over the next year to Health Management Associates Inc. to help Gov. Kevin Stitt finalize and implement a health care plan he has hinted centers on some form of a Medicaid block grant.

Half of the contract costs will be paid for with federal matching funds.

The OHCA board approved hiring a consultant Wednesday and the one-year contract with Health Management Associates with an option for renewal was finalized the next day.

Health Care Authority CEO Kevin Corbett told board members Wednesday that Stitt's office was seeking an experienced Medicaid consultant to inform him on alternatives to Medicaid expansion and how Oklahoma could implement a Medicaid plan tailored to the state's needs.

"This is a consulting arrangement that was asked of us by the governor to help really shape and determine the feasibility of what I'll call his plan, the 'Oklahoma plan' and the pathways to doing that," Corbett said.

Stitt is developing his health care plan while a ballot initiative to expand Medicaid to more low-income Oklahomans appears as though it will go before voters next year. He opposes the proposed state question.

In its application, Michigan-based Health Management Associates touted helping states like Iowa and Indiana develop alternative Medicaid expansion plans and getting approval for those proposals through a federal waiver.

Health Management Associates notes that while states are receiving unprecedented flexibility to design their own Medicaid plans, some recent proposals in other states have been the subject of litigation. But the company says it has a wealth of experience helping states get their unique Medicaid programs approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

"The HMA team has unparalleled experience in helping states navigate and avoid pitfalls in designing and securing approval of new programs," the company said. "We have worked across the country to help states design nontraditional Medicaid programs to increase access to affordable health coverage and have expertise regarding the limitations and parameters of waiver flexibility."

The consulting firm will develop up to three Medicaid proposals for Oklahoma. The company will then guide the chosen proposal through the federal approval process.

Stitt has expressed support for a Medicaid block grant system, in which the federal government would give Oklahoma a lump sum of money to operate its Medicaid program. The governor has not given details of how he sees such a system working in Oklahoma.

In its application, Health Management Associates says its policy experts have studied Tennessee's block grant proposal and indicate that could be an option for Oklahoma.

The company also detailed its plans for the seven areas where Stitt sees the need for health care reform.

Stitt's office sought a consultant who could redesign the state's health care system to focus on a "whole-person" approach to health that takes into account physical health, behavioral health and social determinants of health. The governor also wanted the consultant to provide expertise on increasing access to affordable health care coverage in Oklahoma, streamlining the structure of state agencies that deal with health care and redesigning how they deliver health care services to residents.

The company also will work in conjunction with health care consultants Leavitt Partners.

If that name sounds familiar, it's because former Gov. Mary Fallin hired Utah-based Leavitt Partners in 2013 to explore how Oklahoma could expand health care coverage for low-income residents without expanding Medicaid.

The state hired Leavitt Partners for $500,000, with the federal government covering half of the costs.

Leavitt recommended the state take millions of dollars it could receive for expanding Medicaid and use those funds to expand the state's Insure Oklahoma program, a private-insurance subsidy program for low-income Oklahomans who don't receive health coverage through their employers.

Health Management Associates was founded in 1985. In 2017, the firm acquired a Medicaid consulting firm led by current CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

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