Legislative Update: Reducing the Number of Managed Care Contracts

On Tuesday, February 9, 2021, Senate Bills 55 and 56 were passed by the Kentucky Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Senate Bill 55 would bar copayments and cost-sharing requirements by Medicaid managed care companies in the state in an effort to remove cost barriers to Medicaid beneficiaries seeking early medical interventions. Senate Bill 56 would limit the number of Medicare managed care contracts awarded by the state to three. Currently, there are six managed care contracts after Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd ordered the state to give Anthem a Medicaid contract after Anthem filed suit about how the state awarded its five Medicaid contracts through a competitive RFP process. SBs 55 and 56 will next be sent to the Rules Committee and then, if ordered, sent for a vote by the Senate majority. If approved, it would then pass to the House for consideration.