Access MedPLUS Failed to Provide 60-Day Notice Before ‘Large Layoff,’ May Face Lawsuit

Access MedPLUS, once the largest health plan in TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid managed care program, did not "comply with federal regulations that usually require a 60-day notice before a large layoff" when it "shut down" last week, the Nashville Tennessean reports (Lewis, Nashville Tennessean, 10/25). On Oct. 18, Tennessee officials "seized control" of Access MedPLUS after the health plan "abruptly fired" more than 200 employees without notice or severance pay (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/22). Tennessee officials announced Oct. 16 that TennCare will terminate Access MedPLUS' contract on Oct. 31 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/17). In a letter to the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Access MedPLUS Chair Tony Cebrun blamed the state for the "lack of notice." State officials seized the company last Thursday, and Cebrun informed the department that the company had terminated 216 employees the next day. "Unfortunately, the impact of the state's decision affected our ability to cease operations in a more orderly fashion," Cebrun wrote in the letter. State Department of Labor and Workforce Development spokesperson Nikki Crosslin said that Access MedPLUS had offered facilities for the department to provide counseling to former employees. In addition, Crosslin said that the state would levy no penalties for "failure to comply" with the 60-day notice requirement. A.J. Starling, director of the Tennessee AFL-CIO Technical Assistance Program, added that the law "makes allowances for unforeseen circumstances." However, Access MedPLUS may face lawsuits from several former employees, Nashville attorney David Danner said. Danner said that managers of Access MedPLUS should have "anticipated" the state's decision to seize the company and to terminate the health plan's TennCare contract. "Everything was foreseeable," he said (Nashville Tennessean, 10/25). For further information on state health policy in Tennessee, visit State Health Facts Online.