Officials Seeking New Partners For Public Health Plans

HARTFORD — Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, child advocate Jeanne Milstein, and health care advocate Kevin Lembo urged Governor M. Jodi Rell to bolster the HUSKY and the Charter Oak Health Plan by broadening their provider networks.

The trio of state officials praised Gov Rell for agreeing with their call to abandon her initiative to link HUSKY and Charter Oak. Intertwining the two plans threatened to jeopardize health care access to a quarter of a million children and thousands of adults by deterring physicians and others who were unable or unwilling to participate in both.

In a joint release November 17, the officials encouraged Gov Rell to take additional steps to save HUSKY and Charter Oak by issuing a new request for proposals (RFP) — a step to ensure that all insurers have an opportunity to participate in HUSKY or Charter Oak now that the two are de-linked.

At least one — and likely many more — insurers declined to submit a proposal under the existing RFP because of the requirement that health care providers join both programs.

A new, more competitive RFP process will likely yield more options as well as savings to the state in a time of budget deficits, and may be mandated by state bidding requirements because the current RFP’s criteria were changed.

“Our responsibility to our state’s children is to rescue HUSKY and restore its health care providers, but also bolster care for adults,” Mr Blumenthal said. “We must maximize the benefit of delinking the two programs by involving more insurers to provide better health care options — more doctors, hospitals, and other basic services. HUSKY and Charter Oak are both critical programs that promise to provide health care to our most vulnerable state citizens — but may require distinct sets of health care providers to ensure their fullest participation. We urge more providers to step forward, because their involvement is vital. After this well founded, welcome change, we now urge the governor to take the next critical step by issuing new RFPs to maximize the opportunities for managed care organizations to participate in HUSKY and Charter Oak.”

Ms Milstein said, “This decision will help to ensure HUSKY’s continuation as a model for the country. HUSKY is important and innovative, and by reopening the RFP process, it will help further expand options and opportunities for our children. We are confident that HUSKY will continue to be a model for the entire country.”

Mr Lembo called the governor’s action “very good news.”

“[This action] moves us toward the ultimate goal of an efficient, effective, and predictable health care system for HUSKY and Charter Oak enrollees,” Mr Lembo added. “It is my hope that in the new RFP the administration will give significant thought to the sicker, older, and more vulnerable population that Charter Oak is attracting. In addition, HUSKY enrollees must be given the option of immediately moving to fee-for-service during the transition.”