Appalachian Regional Healthcare, an eight-hospital system based in Eastern Kentucky, is seeking an emergency injunction against CoventryCares of Kentucky so its Medicaid patients can still temporarily receive services, according to a Lexington Herald-Leader report.
Coventry, one of Kentucky's three Medicaid managed care companies, plans to terminate its contract with ARH this Friday, and if that occurs, roughly 25,000 Medicaid beneficiaries in ARH's service area would be out-of-network.
ARH attorneys and officials asked a federal judge to intervene, arguing their Coventry patients would be put in a tough spot to try and access affordable healthcare in a very rural part of Kentucky. "We're talking about 25,000 or more people who are going to be scrambling around trying to find healthcare in places where they've never been, trying to buy gas that they can't afford," said Rick King, ARH's chief legal officer.
Coventry officials said the managed care outfit would still pay for some services at ARH hospitals after the May 4 cutoff. They also said Coventry is ending the contract with ARH because the state did not implement a process to compensate managed care providers who have more high-risk patients, according to the report. ARH has several high-risk, high-cost patients, and Coventry is the only Medicaid managed care provider in ARH's network.
Coventry, one of Kentucky's three Medicaid managed care companies, plans to terminate its contract with ARH this Friday, and if that occurs, roughly 25,000 Medicaid beneficiaries in ARH's service area would be out-of-network.
ARH attorneys and officials asked a federal judge to intervene, arguing their Coventry patients would be put in a tough spot to try and access affordable healthcare in a very rural part of Kentucky. "We're talking about 25,000 or more people who are going to be scrambling around trying to find healthcare in places where they've never been, trying to buy gas that they can't afford," said Rick King, ARH's chief legal officer.
Coventry officials said the managed care outfit would still pay for some services at ARH hospitals after the May 4 cutoff. They also said Coventry is ending the contract with ARH because the state did not implement a process to compensate managed care providers who have more high-risk patients, according to the report. ARH has several high-risk, high-cost patients, and Coventry is the only Medicaid managed care provider in ARH's network.
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