In an apparent attempt to gain the advantage in a payer-provider contract dispute, Kentucky's largest health system has terminated all contracts with Medicaid managed care provider Coventry Cares.
KentuckyOne Health, which owns almost 200 hospitals, physician groups, clinics and primary care centers, ended its contract in response to Coventry's earlier notice to terminate agreements "without cause" with two of its hospitals, Our Lady of Peace and Taylor Regional Hospital, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
"KentuckyOne leadership strongly believes that Medicaid recipients in the commonwealth should have access to quality health care via a comprehensive network of provider and community organizations in order to achieve improved health outcomes," Spokeswoman Barbara Mackovic said. "We feel CoventryCare's actions will ultimately hinder and prevent the care our communities need and deserve."
Although KentuckyOne announced the contract terminations Thursday, they aren't effective until the end of the year, allowing the affected patients an opportunity to switch Medicaid insurers if they want to continue using KentuckyOne facilities and providers, reported the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Coventry Cares is one of four insurance companies that administers Kentucky's Medicaid program. KentuckyOne Health said it would continue participating with the other three insurers, Kentucky Spirit, WellCare and Passport, according to Business First.
To learn more:
- read the Lexington Herald-Leader article
- see the Louisville Courier-Journal article
- check out the Business First article