Medicaid starts process to hire new companies

The Ohio Department of Medicaid wants input from consumers, their advocates and health care providers as it seeks new contracts with managed care companies to oversee the tax-funded insurance program for the poor and disabled.

“We want firsthand experience about what’s working and what’s not . ... We want to hear from everyone who wants to be heard,” Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran said.

The department posted a “request for information” on its website Thursday. Interested parties can submit written feedback to about 35 questions or request a meeting with agency officials.

Soliciting feedback is the first step in the lengthy procurement process and will help Medicaid officials develop a formal request for proposals from managed care companies interested in the work. State officials hope to hear from consumer groups such as Disability Rights Ohio and the National Alliance for Mental Illness, and provider representatives such as the Ohio Hospital Association.

Gov. Mike Dewine directed Medicaid in January to rebid managed care contracts, in large part to crack down on the costly and opaque practices of the pharmacy benefit managers the providers hire to oversee prescription drug benefits. The state currently contracts with five managed care companies, three of which use CVS Caremark as their PBM.

Feedback from those receiving Medicaid services and those providing the care is “vital to a just and fair managed care program,” Dewine said in a statement.

New contracts tentatively will take effect in January 2021.

Deputy Medicaid Director Jim Tassie, who is overseeing the effort, said that when current contracts were bid seven years ago, the focus was on getting as many Medicaid beneficiaries into managed care as possible. This time, the focus will be making sure “people really get what they need.”