Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Amerigroup To Fight Kansas' Decision To Drop Insurer From KanCare Contracts
Kansas City Star: Amerigroup To Appeal Loss Of KanCare Contract To Aetna
Amerigroup, one of three insurance companies that has run KanCare since former Gov. Sam Brownback started the privatized Medicaid program in 2013, says it will contest the state's decision to leave it out of new contracts that start next year. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced last week that it awarded contracts for "KanCare 2.0" to two of the current KanCare companies — Sunflower State Health Plan (a division of Centene) and UnitedHealthcare — but will replace Amerigroup with Aetna. (Marso, 6/25)
News Service of Florida: Medicaid Contract Challenged In Southwest Florida
A move by state health-care regulators to avoid litigation has, instead, created more. Attorneys for Best Care Assurance, a managed care plan affiliated with Lee Memorial Health System, notified the state that they plan to challenge a decision last week to award a Medicaid contract to Molina Healthcare of Florida in a seven-county region of Southwest Florida. (6/26)
Columbus Dispatch: Cost Of Opioid Addiction Stretching Medicaid Safety Net
In southern Ohio’s Scioto County, ground zero for the state’s opioid crisis, 62 of every 1,000 Medicaid enrollees have been diagnosed with drug addiction, the highest rate in the state and up 148 percent since 2010.Statewide, the rate of dependence, abuse or overdose among those on Medicaid jumped a stunning 262 percent during that time. (Candisky, 6/26)
