Bookmark & ShareFor Immediate Release: 12/08/2011
Contact: Doug Porter, Director, Health Care Authority, 360-725-1040; Heidi Robbins Brown, Deputy Director, Health Care Authority 360-725-1040; Preston Cody, Assistant Director for Division of Health Care Services, HCA 360-725-1786
OLYMPIA – The Health Care Authority announced on Wednesday that seven health plans have submitted bids on a 2012-13 contract that will provide managed care for more than 700,000 Medicaid clients and Basic Health subscribers.
The seven health plans, all managed care organizations, were identified as:
- Amerigroup Washington, Inc.
- Columbia United Providers
- Community Health Plan of Washington
- Coordinated Care Corporation Inc.
- Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc.
- Premera Blue Cross of Washington
- UnitedHealthcare
Doug Porter, Director of the Health Care Authority, said the bids will now be evaluated by the agency’s staff with an eye toward selecting successful bidders by the middle of January. Contracts may be awarded to several of the bidders.
The selected managed care organizations will provide contracted services beginning July 1, 2012 and continuing through the 18 months leading up to January 2014, when national health care reform will start expanding the state’s Medicaid enrollment by up to a half million new clients.
The contract is expected to save money for the state over that period since it leverages the state’s purchasing power by consolidating the Medicaid managed care program called Healthy Options with the state’s Basic Health Plan, which provides coverage for the working poor. Other populations in this procurement include Healthy Options clients such as foster children and Social Security Income recipients.
The Request for Proposals was opened to bidders in September.
Background
The Healthy Options program currently provides fully capitated, managed care services for approximately 700,000 Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), TANF-related Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) clients, which is about 60% of Washington’s total Medicaid/CHIP population. HCA intends to add Medicaid clients who are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) but not Medicare to the Healthy Options population. Basic Health provides subsidized health coverage for approximately 37,000 low-income adults.
For Additional Information
The Joint Procurement website is at www.hca.wa.gov/procurement
The Request for Proposals is posted at www.hca.wa.gov/rfp
Jim Stevenson, HCA Communications, 360-725-1915 (pager: 360-971-4067) jim.stevenson@hca.wa.gov
Sharon Michael, HCA Communications, 360-923-2764 sharon.michael@hca.wa.gov
The Health Care Authority does not discriminate and provides equal access to its programs and services for all persons without regard to race, color, gender, religion, creed, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, age, veteran’s status or the presence of any physical, sensory or mental disability.
NR 011-026
