Medicaid Managed Care is a go.
That’s the message from the Department of Health and Human Services, after the three managed care organizations were able to show their provider networks can meet the needs of the state’s Medicaid patients.
Commissioner Nick Toumpas says managed care will go live Dec. 1.
That will be the first day of coverage of the state’s 130,000 Medicaid patients, who will now have to choose between the three managed care vendors.
The state approved a $2.2 billion contract for managed care last summer, the largest contract in state history.
But one of the major issues was hospitals holding out amid concerns they would be paid less for treating Medicaid patients.
The prospects of managed care got a boost earlier this summer when Dartmouth-Hitchcock agreed to join the managed care program.
And this week, the mental health centers also agreed to terms.
Toumpas says there’s a lot that needs to happen between now and the start date, including reaching out to Medicaid recipients.
Mailers will be sent, and a new website will be launched this week.
