Louisiana Judge Puts Medicaid Move On Hold Amid Aetna Protest
September 08 2011 - 2:19PM
Dow Jones News
A judge in Louisiana has issued a temporary restraining order to
stop health officials there from awarding contracts for a state
Medicaid plan so that insurer Aetna Inc. (AET) can sort out its
plans in an ongoing appeal process.
Aetna is among companies that weren't picked in July to
coordinate service for nearly 900,000 Medicaid recipients in
Louisiana, a move that could add up to about $2 billion in annual
revenue for the managed-care industry. Aetna has protested this
decision, citing issues it sees such as a lack of transparency in
the scoring of winning bids, but the company's appeals have been
denied thus far by both the Health and Hospitals department and the
state's Commissioner of Administration.
On Tuesday, Judge Janice Clark of the 19th Judicial District
Court signed an order giving Aetna 14 days to determine whether it
intends to file a petition for judicial review. Aetna said it was
pleased with the judge's decision.
"The temporary restraining order will provide the time necessary
to determine whether to pursue judicial review of these contracts,
which is important not only to Aetna but also to the 800,000
residents of Louisiana whose health care will be governed by the
contracts," the company said in a statement.
Lisa Faust, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Health and Hospitals
department, said Thursday that the department has filed a motion to
dissolve the temporary restraining order. She also said a hearing
is set for next Wednesday on that motion and on the restraining
order.
The Health and Hospitals department recommended five
companies--Amerigroup Corp. (AGP), Centene Corp. (CNC),
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) plus two private firms--for contracts
to serve Medicaid recipients in the state. Both Aetna and Coventry
Health Care Inc. (CVH) have raised protests.
-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728;
jon.kamp@dowjones.com
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