United wins stay in conf lict with HSD

Health care firm wasn’t awarded contract to help manage Medicaid

The District Court in Santa Fe has granted UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico a limited stay in its legal battle against the state’s multibillion-dollar Medicaid procurement process.

Earlier this year, the New Mexico Human Services Department awarded contracts to incumbents Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico and Presbyterian Health Plan, as well as Western Sky Community Care. Contracts were not awarded to United or Molina Healthcare of New Mexico, which are currently administering Medicaid here, nor to several newcomers. Both United and Molina have taken their case to District Court.

The new Medicaid program covered by the recently awarded contracts, known as Centennial Care 2.01, begins Jan. 1, 2019.

In documents filed Monday, Judge David K. Thomson ordered the New Mexico Human Services Department to temporarily halt any transitional activities it is requiring of United until Aug. 24, the date the court will make a decision on the merits of United’s lawsuit. The department must also allow United to “participate in readiness review process activities and site visits.”

A United spokeswoman said in an email that the company is “pleased with the State district court’s ruling while optimistic that UnitedHealthcare Community Plan will be a Medicaid Health Plan choice during open enrollment in Centennial Care 2.0 this fall.”

In a statement, a spokeswoman with the Human Services Department emphasized that the court had granted only a limited stay and not a stay of the procurement process as United had requested.

According to the order, Thomson granted the limited stay on the basis that United would “suffer irreparable injury unless the stay is granted,” among other issues.