States and Medicaid Services

Some states say they’re not receiving the Medicaid services they’re paying for, By Alec MacGillis, July 8, 2010, Washington Post: “The day after the House passed the landmark health-care bill in March, St. Louis-based insurer Centene saw its stock jump 11 percent. That was perhaps the first signal that the major changes ahead would be a boon to one subset of the health-care industry: companies that manage Medicaid for the states. Now businesses are rushing to get a foothold in states that outsource Medicaid, knowing the law could add 16 million people to the federal-state program for the poor and the disabled. In Texas, where Medicaid rolls are expected to grow by 1.8 million people, Centene is scrambling to win additional contracts, having laid the groundwork by contributing $250,000 to state legislators’ campaigns since 2008. ‘We . . . believe we are extremely well-positioned to benefit in this new era,’ Centene chief executive Michael Neidorff told market analysts during a recent conference call. But the experience in some states suggests pitfalls ahead. A recent report found that 2.7 million children on Medicaid in nine states, most of them states that outsource Medicaid, are not receiving required screenings and immunizations…”