AG, Health Care and Child Advocates call on Governor to separately re-bid HUSKY and Charter Oak contracts

In a press conference today, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, State Health Care Advocate Kevin Lembo, and State Child Advocate Jeanne Milstein commended the Governor for her decision Friday to de-link the HUSKY program of health coverage for families from her Charter Oak Health Plan for uninsured adults. The officials also called on the Governor to re-bid the programs as the delinking substantially changes the structure of both programs. In Friday’s Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting, a representative from Anthem, with a large provider network serving most HUSKY families, stated that their health plan might have chosen to bid on HUSKY if it were not linked to Charter Oak. ConnectiCare previously stated in a letter to DSS that they would have bid on Charter Oak if it weren’t linked to HUSKY. Re-bidding could significantly increase health plan and provider options for both HUSKY and Charter Oak consumers. The two new current health plans, AmeriChoice and Aetna Better Health, have been unable to develop an adequate provider network after months of recruitment. Without re-bidding, the Attorney General warned that plans such as Anthem could sue the state for changing the terms of the contract after it was awarded.
Ellen Andrews