Dive Brief:
- Pennsylvania health officials announced Tuesday that the state will be negotiating agreements with three managed care organizations to handle its new Community HealthChoices (CHC) program, which is slated to roll out in three phases between 2017 and 2019.
- The program is being created to coordinate the physical health and long-term services and support needs of the state's 420,000 people who are low-income and elderly or disabled, qualifying them for both Medicare and Medicaid.
- The organizations selected are AmeriHealth Caritas, a subsidiary of Independence Blue Cross; Pennsylvania Health and Wellness, of Centene; and UPMC for You.
Dive Insight:
The chosen insurers are expected to get statewide contracts worth an aggregate of more than $5 billion in revenue, Philly.com reported, adding that 14 insurers had submitted bids.
The decisions came after a long delay, which Modern Healthcare had reported, noting the contracts had originally been scheduled to be awarded in June and then early August, and that the first phase of the program was pushed back from Jan. 1, 2017 to July 1.
Other companies that had thrown in bids included Molina Healthcare, UnitedHealthcare and Geisinger Health Plan.
The state aims for the CHC to help older and disabled Pennsylvanians remain in their homes rather than facilities so they have the opportunity to continue to be with their families, work, and maintain better quality of life.
The selected managed care organizations will provide choices of healthcare and service providers, and help everyone in the CHC program obtain the services they need in a coordinated manner, said DHS Secretary Ted Dallas.
“Like many states across the country, the opportunity for Pennsylvania to further strengthen the social safety net, which is anchored by Medicare and Medicaid, by transitioning to a managed long-term services and supports model takes a major step forward today via this announcement,” stated Secretary of Aging Teresa Osborne.