Former Stitt staffer lobbies for Medicaid bidder
A former staffer of Gov. Kevin Stitt is lobbying for a healthcare company that's bidding on a multimillion-dollar state contract to privatize Oklahoma's Medicaid program.
With Oklahoma on the cusp of expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income residents, Stitt announced over the summer his intention to outsource care for many of the state's Medicaid recipients by hiring private companies to manage the program' s spending.
Former Deputy Secretary of State Samantha Davidson Guinn, who was promoted to that role after serving as the governor's policy director, left the Stitt administration Sept. 4. Now, she is senior vice president of government affairs, strategy and policy for Healthcare Highways, which is bidding on the state's SoonerSelect program — the governor's vision for turning Medicaid into a managed care model that seeks to improve health care quality while cutting costs.
In a statement to The Oklahoman, Healthcare Highways President Alan S cog gins said no conflict of interest exists between Davidson Guinn's former role in the administration and her new position with the company.
Before leaving state government, Davidson Guinn, who holds a law degree, consulted with a private attorney to determine if her potential employment opportunities would violate ethical codes of conduct or create conflicts of interest, Scoggins said.
“As an additional safeguard, Healthcare Highways took the extra step of seeking a second and independent legal opinion by McAfee & Taft law firm in Oklahoma City,” he said. “McAfee & Taft issued a report finding no ethical violations or conflicts in (Davidson Guinn) accepting the position with Healthcare Highways.”
Before joining the governor's office in January 2019, Davidson Guinn worked as a lobbyist for Oklahoma-based GlobalHealth after serving as a senior policy adviser for Republican leadership in the state Senate.
While it is not uncommon for those in the political arena to j ump between the public and private sectors, former Oklahoma lawmakers cannot be directly or indirectly involved with state contracts for two years after leaving office. The same provision does not apply to former state employees.
Davidson Guinn registered as a lobbyist for Healthcare Highways and CareSource Oklahoma on Sept .18, according to state records. She registered to lobby the Oklahoma Legislature, members of the executive branch and some state agencies, namely those that deal with health care.
In a December news release, Healthcare Highways a nd CareSource Oklahoma publicly announced their intent to bid on the state's SoonerSelect Medicaid contract. In the release, CareSource said it is the largest multi-state nonprofit Medicaid managed care company in the country and partnered with Healthcare Highways because of its reputation for having a substantial provider network.
CareSource estimated the company would hire 279 employees in Oklahoma if selected for the contract.
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority is in the process of evaluating SoonerSelect bids, which will become public when the chosen providers are announced in early February, said Health Care Authority spokeswoman Melissa Richey. Bids are typically not revealed until after state contracts are awarded.
The Health Care Authority “has implemented appropriate statutory guidelines and bidding best practices to consistently ensure the integrity of the process,” she said in a statement. “Members of our evaluation team have not been publicly disclosed in an additional effort to protect against even the appearance of undue influence. These professionals are experts in their field, and were selected based on their ability to evaluate the technical requirements outlined in the (request for proposals).”
The Health Care Authority anticipates contracting with at least two managed care companies.
St it ts pokes man Charlie Hannema said the governor's office has no involvement in evaluating bids or awarding the managed care contracts.
The SoonerSelect contracts are contingent upon funding from the Legislature, where Stitt faces pushback from some lawmakers within his party. In a December news release, more than two dozen Republican legislators announced their opposition to the gov ernor's push to shift the state's Medicaid program to a commercial managed care model.
Oklahoma is poised to expand Medicaid on July 1. The Health Care Authority is planning for the state's Medicaid program to shift to a managed care model in the fall.
The managed care companies would oversee medical and dental spending for 773,794 of Oklahoma's nearly 1 million Medicaid recipients. Initially, the companies will manage care for the following Medicaid populations: pregnant women, children, low-income adults covered by Medicaid expansion, former foster children, juvenile sin foster care and parent and caretaker relatives.
Reporter Carmen Forman covers state government, politics and the COVID19 pandemic for The Oklahoman. Send story tips to cforman@oklahoman. com or connect on Twitter with @CarmenMForman. Please support the work of Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a print or digital subscription today at oklahoman.com/subscribe.