It looks like the Mississippi Hospital Association made some progress in its attempt to muscle its way into getting some Medicaid bidness. Larrison Campbell reported at Mississippi Today last night:
After a tumultuous year, Mississippi’s powerful hospital lobby won a small victory this week when a House committee passed a bill requiring Medicaid to make room for a provider-sponsored insurance plan in its controversial managed care program.
Currently, there is only one insurance company backed by health care providers in the state, Mississippi True, which is made up of 60 hospitals and has the support of the state’s Hospital Association. As a result, this requirement would bypass Medicaid’s bidding process to award an estimated $300 million contract to Mississippi True, a move that effectively bends the agency rules to accommodate one company, say several legislators, including the bill’s sponsor.
“Here’s what we know. There was a bid process. Three (companies) were awarded contracts. There were several other companies in front of this provider-sponsored health plan, so they weren’t even a close fourth,” said Rep. Jason White, R-West, who sponsored the legislation.....
The provision is widely seen as an attempt to remedy what some legislators have called a bungled procurement process. This summer, the Division of Medicaid awarded new managed care contracts to United Healthcare, Magnolia Health and Molina Healthcare. When Mississippi True was excluded, several lawmakers cried foul, arguing the evaluation process was biased......
But the hospitals have long been at odds with the managed care companies, arguing that managed care’s reimbursement rates are so low they often don’t cover the costs of caring for these patients. A provider-sponsored plan, in which the hospitals would manage the care of their own patients, is an attempt for hospitals to take control of these complaints— and get a piece of the lucrative managed care pie. Mississippi Medicaid spends $3 billion a year on its managed care programs.
One reason for the widespread legislative support for Mississippi True is the company itself has a wide reach. Unlike the three managed care companies that won contracts, all of which are based out of state, Mississippi True is a partnership of 60 hospitals across the state, meaning the vast majority of legislators have a member hospital in their districts.
In fact, many of these lawmakers say the current carve-out doesn’t bend the rules far enough to make Mississippi.... Read the rest of the thorough article.
Kingfish note: So much for public procurement laws. What is the point of having a bidding process if the rejects are going to go get the legislature to rig the game? There was no bias in the bidding process. The so-called bias was the fact that Mississippi True was docked points in the scoring process for having a lack of experience in providing managed care. Mississippi True lost in court and lost its administrative appeals. However, why fight at all when it can use some legislative muscle to get its way? What is Wyatt Emmerich to do? Crony capitalism v. Medicaid money. The same clowns who bitch about black folks not working while receiving Medicaid have no problem rigging the rules and shoveling out the Medicaid dollars to the white folks wearing suits.
Oh, and keep in mind that for all of the Mississippi Hospital Association's chest-beating over being local, the actual operation of Mississippi True is out-sourced to an out-of-state company. Mississippi-based indeed. More like a false flag operation. The hospitals plant a Mississippi flag while shipping all of the actual work and money out of state.
Most corrupt state in the country.
12 comments:
Just to be fair and complete about the bidding process, one of the successful bidders, Molina Healthcare, recently had its Medicaid contract with the State of New Mexico terminated come January 2019. And what did Molina do: they sued the State of New Mexico claiming the bid process was unfair because some of those who reviewed the bids for New Mexico Medicaid had ties to one of the successful bidders. Seems like I have heard that same contention around these parts. Here's the story about Molina in New Mexico. http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/molina-healthcare-sues-state-over-loss-of-medicaid-contract/article_a719e849-58c1-551b-9038-c6fdf4f5d735.html
I still can't wrap my head around how the state can justify and actually encourage those who are receiving payments for services provided to also be responsible for cutting said check. How is this not a conflict?
10:35....it is and they don't care. That's why the legislative override. The MHA has the legislature bought and paid for. Its the corporate give away of the century. Over the next 20 years we will line the pockets of the hospitals far in excess of the perks given to Nissan or Continental. All so that the hospital CEO's can make millions, yes millions.
Trying to do it the right way is what cost the Medicaid Executive Director his job. That's how powerful the MHA is.
Just to be fair and complete about the bidding process ...
Beyond your efforts to smear Molina exactly what does Molina's business with New Mexico have to do with Mississippi's bidding process?
@ 11:03, the Medicaid ED lost his job when the litany of "not right" things that he did finally became too much for the Governor to bear. He was as slimy as they come.
This is not the way to go about it, but Legislators are not proposing this because of campaign donations. They are supporting it because of the one thing more powerful than campaign $ - the people in their districts. The ACA - especially without Medicaid expansion - is crippling to community hospitals. This may really be the only way that they can stay open. I oppose expansion and think that some of these hospitals need to shutter or become a Doc in a Box". However, smart Legislators know that they will be hearing from their neighbors who lose their jobs when the hospital closes or from their friend who has to travel an hour each way after work to go check on their sick mother (when before it was a short detour to the local hospital). Closing the community hospitals would eliminate some of the best jobs in small MS communities (nursing pay ain't bad). Allowing jobs to leave your town; forcing neighbors to drive an hour for medical care; that's a good way to lose support at home. THAT is what motivates these legislators.
"The same clowns who bitch about black folks not working while receiving Medicaid have no problem rigging the rules and shoveling out the Medicaid dollars to the white folks wearing suits."
But this is Mississippi where we dont have a race problem (sarcasm) and we dont believe in handouts. We believe you can work your way up by yourself (as long as we are not talking about helping wealthy white males who are in a position to donate money to their political buddies who happen to be white males).
Remember we can complain about poor or blacks folks getting handouts and still be conservative and talk about smaller governments but once we start targeting white folks getting rich at taxpayers expense that wont fly in this Republican controlled state.
Obama, abortion, and the liberals up north are our enemy, not each other. Kingfish, you clearly have not been watching the your daily Fox News to stay indoctrinated.
@11:23 - What Molina's loss of a New Mexico managed care contract, the layoff of a few hundred employees, and the replacement of its top management has to do with its ability to service a managed care contract in Mississippi has nothing to do with "smearing" Molina -- it has to do with the company's ability vel non to service the same kind of contract in Mississippi.
Only an MHA lobbyist could be 11:50. But if it works, do it. Blaming Obama and the ACA works in Mississippi.....but it has nothing to do with the MHA managed care company being ranked last in a competitive process. Stay on point.
Ms. True has never lost a contract because they have never won a contract or managed a health plan. In fact every "provider sponsored plan" in America has failed within two years, or been sold to a managed care company. The CEO of Ms. True had to resign from a previous employer after the state found he had committed medicare fraud. Now that we got rid of Epps, lets' put another crook in charge of overseeing the millions in state dollars being spent on outrageous medical costs being padded for excessive profits by greedy hospital execs.
Those in contracting are well aware that current contract law is at the heart of corruption in this state.
You know who are corrupt contractors and who aren't by who opposes or supports efforts to improve the State's contracting laws.
Step 1 would be to get rid of our Highway Commission and replace it with a professional group of engineers.
Rep. Jerry Turner, where are you? Rep. Turner chairs the Accountability Transparency and Efficiency committee in the House of Representatives. rep. Turner was quick to publicly criticize the managed care RFP and said (without a shred of proof) it was flawed. Where is your procurement reform outrage sir over the House legislation that mandates a no-bid multi-million dollar contract to the hospital association's front group, Ms. True?
This is procurement deform and your silence screams louder than your words. What is accountable, efficient, transparent or conservative about politically bypassing the procurement process, mandating winners and losers while adding millions in unnecessary cost to the Medicaid program.
Rep. Turner, your reform credibility is slipping fast. Take a principled stand against cronyism, politics and corruption being injected into the managed care program by the Hospital Association. Do your job and oppose this legislation or give your chairmanship to someone who will.
In other words, let the Dept of Medicaid do its job. Politicians and their lapdogs should not be running a billion dollar department when their only knowledge of the matter comes from the MHA.
This is MDOC all over again....but made legal by the legislature.
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