Topeka — The largest health insurer in Kansas said Wednesday it will not submit a proposal to be a Medicaid contractor under Gov. Sam Brownback's plan to privatize Medicaid.
"We did not come to this decision lightly," said Angie Strecker, director of institutional relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas.
The Brownback administration has put out a request for proposals for contractors to bid on providing managed care services under Medicaid, which serves approximately 350,000 Kansans.
"We devoted significant resources and assigned top staff to review the Request for Proposals (RFP)," Strecker said. "In the end, although we believe the RFP may present a sizable opportunity, it would have required us to dramatically change our business model to serve new populations in different settings in less than a year," she said.
Advocates for Kansans with developmental disabilities and some legislators have said Brownback's move toward managed care was going too fast and has too many unresolved issues.
State Sen. Dick Kelsey, R-Goddard, noted that the state's RFP elicited 1,100 questions from bidders.
The most controversial aspect of the plan is including contracts for people with developmental disabilities. Advocates say the long-term supports needed for people with developmental disabilities don’t fit with a private program to manage healthcare costs. And they said the governor’s plan doesn’t address the nearly 5,000 people with developmental disabilities on a waiting list to receive assistance in their homes.
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question4u (anonymous) says…
One more embarrassing blunder from the governor's office. Why would anyone but Sam Don't-Stop-to-Think-It-Through Brownback expect the state's largest healthcare provider to change its "business model to serve new populations in different settings in less than a year."
Businesses generally aren't keen on risking costly mistakes by rushing through major changes without careful consideration. Sam, however, is of a different mind (a much smaller one).
sammyk (anonymous) says…
Wonder who else will pull out. 1100 questions...how many got answered?
overthemoon (anonymous) says…
Yet another case of the Gov's team not doing their homework and passing slip shod work off as 'policy'. Over a thousand questions on the RFP??? That's not a good RFP.
We have a non thinking Koch apparatchik for a Governor. Glad to see that the 'free market' won't play along with the nonsense.
thebigspoon (anonymous) says…
Wow, a REALLY big business now off the Brownback wagon? What will we see next? Maybe a turn toward sensibility?
verity (anonymous) says…
Is Brownback/Koch just trying to throw a wrench in all the gears just to prove that nothing works?
Please, somebody, tell me what Brownback has done that is good for the state? I would like to think it hasn't all been negative.
tolawdjk (anonymous) replies…
He gave out cake to the state workers last year! Or was it ice cream? Or was it both? Either way, they should have been working and not snacking.
verity (anonymous) replies…
I thought he was going to see who came to the party and then fire them for not working. But maybe that was just a rumor started by some bored LJW poster.
FalseHopeNoChange (anonymous) says…
Kansas don't need no stinking private company BCBS. They gots ObamaCare.
Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Jeffrey B. Liebman – both of whom have Obama administration ties
The End of Health Insurance Companies ... Here's a bold prediction for the new year. By 2020, the American health insurance industry will be extinct. Insurance companies will be replaced by accountable care organizations — groups of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who come together to provide the full range of medical care for patients ... Accountable care organizations will typically be paid a fixed amount per patient, along with bonuses for achieving quality targets. The organizations will make money by keeping their patients healthy and out of the hospital and by avoiding unnecessary tests, drugs and procedures. Thus, they will actually have a financial incentive to hire that nurse for follow-ups. – New York Times
appleaday (anonymous) replies…
You'd rather have insurance companies making obscene profits while denying care to people just because they feel like it? God forbid that health care providers be given the authority to make health care decisions without having to go through the insurance company bureaucracy.
FalseHopeNoChange (anonymous) replies…
The government bureaucracy (which btw are people too) can take care of you. In fact, you can take all of your Obamacare needs to your local VA hospital. Doing that will free up spots for paying customers at public hospitals.
appleaday (anonymous) says…
"Obamacare" doesn't actually do away with insurance companies. You might try reading the bill sometime. The American Nurses Association has a great summary of it on their website.