Oklahoma State Medical Association to challenge state s Medicaid managed-care program
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The Oklahoma State Medical Association on Tuesday said it plans to seek a court injunction against the state s recently announced $2.1 billion Medicaid managed-care program.
The association plans to challenge the Oklahoma Health Care Authority s decision to allow UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Humana Healthy Horizons and Centene Corp. subsidiary Oklahoma Complete Health to manage Medicaid benefits for the state s 903,000 enrollees come Oct. 1. The initiative, named SoonerSelect, covers lower-income adults, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Children s Health Insurance Program.
The group said it takes issue with private companies operating the state s Medicaid program, rather than the Health Care Authority. Through SoonerSelect, the state will pay private insurers under a capitated payment model, offering payers a set fee per enrollee to coor
By Janelle Stecklein | CNHI State Reporter Feb 6, 2021
Feb 6, 2021
OKLAHOMA CITY â Debate over the future of Oklahomaâs health care system is heating up as legislators and medical professionals argue about the wisdom of a gubernatorial plan that seeks to overhaul the stateâs insurance delivery method.
âItâs the most divisive issue at the state Capitol,â said state Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, Senate president pro tem. âIt has been for a couple of years. My caucus is fairly evenly divided. I personally am agnostic on the delivery system as long as we can try to control costs and also ensure better health outcomes.â
Charity Inc.: Oklahoma nonprofits face big issues as legislative session begins
Marnie Taylor
This week, the Legislature convened for the 2021 legislative session. Last year, as you recall, COVID-19 created a number of barriers for our state Legislature to get much policy work completed or bills passed. This year, they are hopeful that they will be able to return to a more normal session.
And they have their work cut out for them.
Oklahomans will be dealing with several important issues this year, and many of those directly impact the nonprofit sector. One of the most talked about is Oklahoma health care. Last week, the Health Care Authority voted 5-4 to allow for managed care in Oklahoma. It was announced later that Oklahoma had chosen four third-party managed care providers to help oversee the management of our state’s Medicaid population.
By Catherine Sweeney & Kassie McClung | The Frontier
• Jan 29, 2021
State officials announced the winners of up to $2.1 billion in health care contracts on Friday, a major milestone in implementing Oklahoma’s hotly debated privatized Medicaid program.
Four private health insurance companies will handle much of Oklahoma’s Medicaid program starting in October: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma; Humana Healthy Horizons; Oklahoma Complete Health, which is a subsidiary of managed care giant Centene; and United Healthcare.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has made partially privatizing Medicaid one of his administration’s top priorities. Using a policy called the managed care model, Oklahoma will begin paying private health insurance companies to coordinate much of the state’s Medicaid program, known as SoonerCare. Up to 75% of the state’s Medicaid enrollees will work with the private companies. That includes the anticipated 200,000 working adults who will newly qua