HEALTHY OPTIONS RFP: THE MARKET BEGINS TO RESPOND

In the wake of the HCA announcement on Tuesday, I asked payers and providers for their response or reaction to the news.  A number of them had rather colorful comments off the record.  Here are some that were on the record.  I also have a series of questions in to the HCA about decision criteria and next steps.  I’m sure with the snow fall, it’s taking longer than normal to track those answers down, but I will post them here when I get them.

Eric Earling, Sr. Manager for Communication, Public Policy and Issues at Premera, gave us this statement about the HCA’s decision to reject Premera as Healthy Options contractor.

“We have been notified by the HCA that Premera was not selected as an “apparently successful bidder” for the 2012-13 managed care procurement.  The HCA did not disclose the reason for its decision. We hope to learn more information in the coming days.

While this is obviously not our preferred outcome, we believe the bid process was valuable in informing our understanding of the new marketplace being created by federal healthcare reform.  We look forward to leveraging those lessons in serving our customers and members now and in the future.”

Lance Hunsinger, Chief Executive Officer of Community Health Plan of Washington, gave us this statement.

“Community Health Plan of Washington received the announcement today from HCA.  We look forward to meeting with the HCA later this week to debrief on specifics.”

From a Coordinated Care, the local face of Centene Corporation.

“We are pleased and honored to be selected to offer coordinated healthcare services and programs to the people of Washington,” said Jesse Hunter, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Operating Group Chairman of Centene. “Centene’s core philosophy is to provide accessible, high-quality care at a lower cost, and we look forward to working together with the Health Care Authority to execute on this vision.”

 “Washington will be the 15^th state in which Centene operates health plans and is a continued example of Centene’s dedication to providing innovative health solutions at the local level for the members and states we serve”, said Michael F. Neidorff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Centene.   “We believe our strategic provider partnerships will help us deliver improved health outcomes for our members in a cost-effective manner.”

From Cindy Robertson, Administrator of NorthShore Medical Group:

“Managed Medicaid in Washington state was built on long standing relationships with our local, non profit payers.  Its very disconcerting for providers to see four out of the five Healthy Options carriers are now out of state, for profit plans.”