Blue Cross of California Awarded Medi-Cal HMO Contract for Two Counties; Molina Healthcare Plans Appeal
The Department of Health Services on Tuesday announced that it plans to award Blue Cross of California a contract to serve Medi-Cal beneficiaries in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. By replacing Molina Healthcare, Blue Cross would become one of two HMOs serving Medi-Cal beneficiaries in the Inland Empire (Beeman, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 5/11).
Molina Healthcare on Wednesday disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had lost two Medi-Cal contracts worth $111 million in annual revenue and covering 96,492 members in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Molina said it will appeal DHS' decision and "pursue all of its options" regarding the contracts (Los Angeles Times, 5/12).
Molina's contract with DHS was one of seven Medi-Cal HMO contracts for which the state collected bids. Molina's contracts for Riverside and San Bernardino counties were the only two awarded to a new contractor, the Press-Enterprise reports.
Molina's bid was disqualified because the company failed to properly submit a list of medical providers for each county, according to a letter from the state to Molina. DHS gave Molina two opportunities to correct the problem, but the company failed to fully comply with state bidding requirements, DHS spokesperson Ken August said.
August said the disqualification was not related to patient care, adding, "We have no concerns about the quality of care from Molina."
Molina and the two other losing bidders have five days to appeal DHS' decision. Once any appeal is resolved, Medi-Cal beneficiaries in the counties within six months will enroll in an HMO offered by the winning bidder or Inland Empire Health Plan, August said.
Blue Cross' contracts with DHS are scheduled to take effect March 2006 (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 5/12).