TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration expects to decide this summer which private companies will manage the state’s $2.9 billion Medicaid program.
Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, who led the team that developed Brownback’s plan to overhaul the program, told two dozen legislators Monday evening that “multiple organizations” are seeking the Medicaid contracts. Medicaid provides health coverage for the poor, disabled and elderly.
Brownback’s administration plans to issue three contracts this year for the Medicaid program. Each contract would start Jan. 1, 2013. Each company would operate statewide, so that Medicaid clients would have a choice of coverage.
The overhaul represents the first time the state has attempted to cover the disabled and the elderly, including those in nursing homes, with a managed-care program.
