From Disability Scoop:
“Are Managed Care Providers
Wrongly Denying Services To People With Disabilities?”
As more states turn to managed
care to administer Medicaid, federal investigators are set to examine whether
these companies are offering people with disabilities the care they’re
entitled. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector
General said it will investigate whether managed care organizations are wrongly
denying services. Many states have turned to private insurers to handle their
Medicaid services, including those for people with developmental disabilities.
Under the arrangements, states pay insurers a set amount of money to administer
benefits. “The contractual arrangement shifts financial risk for the costs of
Medicaid services from the state Medicaid agency and the federal government to
the MCO, which can create an incentive to deny beneficiaries’ access to covered
services. Our review will determine whether Medicaid MCOs complied with federal
requirements when denying access to requested medical and dental services and
drug prescriptions that required prior authorization,” the HHS inspector
general said in announcing the plan to investigate. The move comes at the
request of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. In a letter to HHS Inspector General Daniel R.
Levinson last month, Casey cited reports from the Dallas Morning News and the
Des Moines Register suggesting that some managed care companies have wrongly
denied needed care. “It is the duty of MCOs, as a steward of taxpayer dollars,
to spend Medicaid funds responsibly in pursuit of the health of our families,”
Casey wrote. “What the Dallas Morning News and Des Moines Register uncovered,
however, were actions taken by MCOs focused squarely on delivering profits to
wealthy shareholders at the expense of those most in need of medical care.” Specifically,
Casey wants the inspector general to address whether people with disabilities
and other groups that weren’t traditionally covered by managed care are being
adequately served by these companies. And, the senator said the investigation
should examine if people with disabilities are being denied access to care at
higher rates than other Medicaid beneficiaries. What’s more, Casey asked the
inspector general to look into whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services is adequately providing oversight to ensure that Medicaid
beneficiaries are getting the services they need. The HHS Office of Inspector General said a
report detailing its findings is expected sometime next year.
^ There does seem to be more incentive
to pay the shareholders rather than making sure the disabled get the benefits
they are entitled to and deserve and that needs to be investigated and, if
found to be true, stopped. ^
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