- Kansas legislative committee jumps into battle over selection of Medicaid contractors (Kansas Reflector, 6/26/2024)
- The Kansas Legislature’s committee is investigating the selection process of Medicaid contractors by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), particularly the replacement of Aetna Better Health with Healthy Blue, which had a controversial exit from the program in 2018. The committee is seeking documents to understand the decision-making process, and has asked the Attorney General for guidance on obtaining procurement information. Aetna Better Health and CareSource Kansas, another bidder, have formally protested the selection process, challenging the scoring and the perceived conflict of interest due to former state employees being hired by Healthy Blue’s affiliates. The Department of Administration is reviewing these protests, with the director’s decision to be considered the final agency action.
