Louisiana's Making Medicaid Better initiative announced that it had received proposals from 12 separate entities to become coordinated care networks under the state's effort to remake its insurance program for the poor. Among the 12, three companies proposed a shared savings network model while nine proposed a pre-paid network structure.
"It is exciting to see so many entities interested in helping us improve health outcomes in Louisiana," said DHH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein. "This competitive process will ensure that our evaluation teams can select those networks that have the best competencies to meaningfully impact our residents and transform our health system." Under the plan, the state will be divided into three geographical service areas (GSAs), which will be served by no more than three models of the care networks. The state will announce the contracts for the GSAs later this month with the first GSA slated to go live Jan. 1, 2012.
The Oregon senate passed a bill on June 29 that will massively reengineer the state's Medicaid plan – called Oregon Health Plan – by consolidating the managed care plans that currently administer the program into regional "care coordination organizations." The plan is intended to allow for better coordination of members' health with a special emphasis on preventive care and improving the treatment of chronic conditions. The measure passed by a senate vote of 22 to 7, with all no votes registered by Republicans. The new law, which had passed the House by a vote of 59 to 1 earlier in the week, is aimed at helping the state save as much as $240 million in the program for the 2011-2013 time period.
The Texas Senate passed a state health reform bill that will seek a Medicaid waiver for the state with the intent to secure a block grant from the federal government to fund the state's low-income insurance program. The bill, SB7, passed by a vote of 96 to 48 is designed to potentially save Texas as much as $400 million dollars. To do that the state will expand its Medicaid managed care program to the Rio Grande Valley and also allows doctors to partner with other provider groups in order to devise new models of care designed to produce better health outcomes. Like a similar bill in Indiana, the Texas legislation also has strong anti-abortion elements that seek to dramatically reduce state funds going to Planned Parenthood and hospitals that use state tax dollars for abortion services.