Passport Loses Ky. Medicaid Rebid; Evolent Seeks Answers

Jun 04
Jun 04, 2020

After a reviewing a second round of bids in an attempt to “ensure a fair and transparent process,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) on May 29 named the same five winners in the Medicaid contract awards originally made under former Gov. Matt Bevin (R). Passport Health Plan, which has a long history of serving the state’s Medicaid program and was on the brink of insolvency until Evolent Health purchased a 70% stake in it, was once again not chosen and plans to protest.

CVS Health Corp.-owned Aetna, Humana Inc., Molina Healthcare, Inc., UnitedHealthcare and WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (now owned by Centene Corp.) in November were selected to manage benefits for approximately 1.4 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees. All five retained their awards; Aetna also won a separate contract that originally went to WellCare to serve Kentucky SKY, a risk-based managed care delivery program for foster children and the Dept. for Juvenile Justice. Incumbents Anthem, Inc. and Passport were not selected either time; both protested the November decision.
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Lauren Flynn Kelly

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.