Health News
Conventry Cares must continue its contract with Appalachian Regional Healthcare through Nov. 1 so the 25,000 Eastern Kentucky Medicaid patients affected don't get "thrown under the bus," a federal judge ruled yesterday.
"The health and well-being of thousands of these patients hang in the balance, and many have already suffered hardships, stress and confusion as a result of Coventry's sudden notice of termination of its contract with ARH," U.S. Senior Judge Karl Forester wrote. "ARH serves a high-risk population in an economically depressed area. If faced with a lengthy and costly trip to visit their primary care physician, many patients will simply forego preventive care, leading to worse health problems, higher risk, and more expensive treatment in the future."
ARH operates eight hospitals and other health clinics in Eastern Kentucky. Coventry, also known as Coventry Health & Life Insurance Company, is "one of three companies the state hired Nov. 1 to manage care for the 560,000 Kentuckians enrolled in the federal-state health care program for the poor and disabled," report Valarie Honeycutt Spears and Beth Musgrave for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Coventry has since said it has lost $50 million in the first quarter of 2012 in Kentucky and is trying to make up for the losses by renegotiating its contracts across the state. When Coventry said it would terminate its contract with ARH in May, the hospital system filed a lawsuit asking for a preliminary injunction to prevent that from happening. Forester ruled the injunction "essential."
After Nov. 1 this year, Forester said Coventry could terminate its contract but "ordered Coventry to provide ARH a list of its members who have used ARH during the past five years so ARH may contact those patients." Right now, ARH only has a contract with one of the two other managed care organizations. (Read more)
- State's Largest Health Care System Says It Will End Contract With Coventry Cares
KentuckyOne Health, the state's largest health-care system with almost 200 hospitals, physician groups, primary care centers and other agencies, is canceling its contracts with Coventry Cares, one of the state's four Medicaid managed-care organizations....
- Cabinet For Health And Family Services Held In Contempt Over Medicaid Services For Eastern Kentuckians
Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center, one of eight ARH hospitals. Courier-Journal photo, copyright 2000For taking "practically no steps to a comply" to a request to help thousands of patients transfer their Medicaid services, the Cabinet for Health...
- Coventry Offers To Keep Paying Arh, But Less, For Treating Medicaid Patients; Asks Danville Chain To Renegotiate
Coventry Cares has offered to pay for treatments at Appalachian Regional Healthcare as a "non-contracted provider," which would mean ARH would be paid far less than it is now, but coverage for ARH's 25,000 Medicaid patient members would not be interrupted....
- Coventry, Arh At Impasse Over Medicaid; State Says Service Will Not Be Interrupted For 25,000 Affected
Though negotiations between Appalachian Regional Healthcare and Coventry Cares appear to be futile, the state is taking steps to make sure there won't be an interruption in care for the Medicaid recipients who will be affected by the impasse....
- Coventry Agrees To Keep Covering Arh Patients Until June 30
After a two-hour hearing in federal court, managed-care firm CoventryCares agreed yesterday to keep paying Appalachian Regional Healthcare for treating Medicaid patients at its hospitals through at least June 30 while negotiations continue. "Coventry...
Health News
Coventry must extend contract with Appalachian Regional Healthcare until Nov. 1, judge rules
Conventry Cares must continue its contract with Appalachian Regional Healthcare through Nov. 1 so the 25,000 Eastern Kentucky Medicaid patients affected don't get "thrown under the bus," a federal judge ruled yesterday.
"The health and well-being of thousands of these patients hang in the balance, and many have already suffered hardships, stress and confusion as a result of Coventry's sudden notice of termination of its contract with ARH," U.S. Senior Judge Karl Forester wrote. "ARH serves a high-risk population in an economically depressed area. If faced with a lengthy and costly trip to visit their primary care physician, many patients will simply forego preventive care, leading to worse health problems, higher risk, and more expensive treatment in the future."
ARH operates eight hospitals and other health clinics in Eastern Kentucky. Coventry, also known as Coventry Health & Life Insurance Company, is "one of three companies the state hired Nov. 1 to manage care for the 560,000 Kentuckians enrolled in the federal-state health care program for the poor and disabled," report Valarie Honeycutt Spears and Beth Musgrave for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Coventry has since said it has lost $50 million in the first quarter of 2012 in Kentucky and is trying to make up for the losses by renegotiating its contracts across the state. When Coventry said it would terminate its contract with ARH in May, the hospital system filed a lawsuit asking for a preliminary injunction to prevent that from happening. Forester ruled the injunction "essential."
After Nov. 1 this year, Forester said Coventry could terminate its contract but "ordered Coventry to provide ARH a list of its members who have used ARH during the past five years so ARH may contact those patients." Right now, ARH only has a contract with one of the two other managed care organizations. (Read more)
- State's Largest Health Care System Says It Will End Contract With Coventry Cares
KentuckyOne Health, the state's largest health-care system with almost 200 hospitals, physician groups, primary care centers and other agencies, is canceling its contracts with Coventry Cares, one of the state's four Medicaid managed-care organizations....
- Cabinet For Health And Family Services Held In Contempt Over Medicaid Services For Eastern Kentuckians
Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center, one of eight ARH hospitals. Courier-Journal photo, copyright 2000For taking "practically no steps to a comply" to a request to help thousands of patients transfer their Medicaid services, the Cabinet for Health...
- Coventry Offers To Keep Paying Arh, But Less, For Treating Medicaid Patients; Asks Danville Chain To Renegotiate
Coventry Cares has offered to pay for treatments at Appalachian Regional Healthcare as a "non-contracted provider," which would mean ARH would be paid far less than it is now, but coverage for ARH's 25,000 Medicaid patient members would not be interrupted....
- Coventry, Arh At Impasse Over Medicaid; State Says Service Will Not Be Interrupted For 25,000 Affected
Though negotiations between Appalachian Regional Healthcare and Coventry Cares appear to be futile, the state is taking steps to make sure there won't be an interruption in care for the Medicaid recipients who will be affected by the impasse....
- Coventry Agrees To Keep Covering Arh Patients Until June 30
After a two-hour hearing in federal court, managed-care firm CoventryCares agreed yesterday to keep paying Appalachian Regional Healthcare for treating Medicaid patients at its hospitals through at least June 30 while negotiations continue. "Coventry...