Louisiana Extends Medicaid Deadline Amid Healthcare Contract Dispute

Louisiana Officials Extend Medicaid Contract with United Healthcare

BATON ROUGE, La. - After a series of tense discussions and concerns over transparency, Louisiana officials have agreed to a 90-day extension for United Healthcare’s Medicaid contract. This decision comes after the state threatened not to renew the agreement due to the company's failure to provide payment records dating back to April 2021.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Attorney General Liz Murrill appeared before the Senate Health and Welfare/Insurance Committee on December 16 to defend the decision to deny the contract renewal. The move could affect nearly 320,000 individuals who would be forced onto new healthcare plans if United Healthcare does not submit the required documents.

Extension Offers More Time for Compliance

The extension pushes the deadline from December 31 to mid-February, giving United Healthcare more time to provide the requested documents. It also allows beneficiaries additional time to switch to new Medicaid providers if necessary. If the company fails to comply, those beneficiaries will be evenly split among the other five existing Medicaid providers. LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein stated that families will be able to stay together in their plans and retain their existing doctors.

Frustration Over Communication Timing

State lawmakers expressed frustration during a meeting at the Capitol about why communication regarding the contract issues did not occur when the contract renewal was approved in November. Senator Patrick McMath highlighted the issue, saying, “Can you see the frustration though with the legislature when it comes to the consideration that could have taken place four, five months prior to this and not three weeks?”

Attorney General Murrill responded by stating, “It is what it is and I’m happy to work with you any way you want but I don’t think United needs to continue to be rewarded for obstructing our investigation into fraudulent and abusive tactics.”

Allegations of Fraud and Financial Claims

Murrill claimed that United Healthcare is withholding payment receipts because it has been committing fraud. She said that if these allegations are true, the state could be entitled to roughly $300 to $760 million, excluding penalties. “The documents show we are entitled to a whole bunch of money back, that’s why I think they don’t want to give us the documents,” Murrill said.

The attorney general emphasized that United Healthcare has a contractual obligation to provide access to documents for transparency on the $2.5 billion the state pays the company annually for Medicaid coverage.

Concerns About Patient Disruption

While lawmakers agreed that if the fraud allegations are true, United Healthcare should be held accountable, they also voiced concerns about the disruption caused by moving so many people to new Medicaid plans with short notice. Senator Kirk Talbot noted, “People don’t care about this per se, they care about their healthcare and coverage being continued.”

Senator McMath added that the specific circumstances of reassigning so many people in such a short period have never occurred before. “I think it’s impossible to say there aren’t going to be any disruptions,” he said.

State Plans Communication Efforts

The Louisiana Department of Health announced that it will communicate changes to affected beneficiaries through mailers, phone calls, emails, and social media messaging. If United Healthcare fails to provide the requested documents by the February deadline, the nearly 320,000 people on United Healthcare Medicaid plans will be automatically switched to new providers.

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