KanCare 3 procurement upheld by court but committee members press for guardrails after evaluator notes were destroyed

Pat Doran, chief counsel for the Kansas Department of Administration, told the Committee on Insurance that the state followed its request‑for‑proposal process in awarding the KanCare 3 managed‑care contracts and that Shawnee County District Court had upheld the awards.

“The court said the following, the process by which the state determined the contract award was grounded in the request for proposal and was not unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious,” Doran said.

The issue matters because the KanCare contracts are among the state’s largest — Doran said they will administer Medicaid for “over 400,000 citizens” and total “over $4,000,000,000.” Lawmakers pressed Doran and KDHE officials on why individual evaluators’ notes were destroyed during the technical review, who recommended that practice, and whether past performance was weighed in the selections.

Doran and KDHE Medicaid director Christine Osterland outlined the procurement timeline and evaluation approach. The Office of Procurement and Contracts posted the RFP on Oct. 2 and held a mandatory pre‑bid conference on Oct. 16, according to Doran. Seven bidders submitted proposals; the state separated and sealed technical and cost proposals and ran a three‑phase evaluation that included mandatory requirements, a technical review and cost review. Doran…