Senate committee presses DHS and insurers over Medicaid 'pass' ownership and provider payments

Little Rock — Lawmakers on the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on Wednesday pressed the Department of Human Services and insurance regulators to tighten contract language for Arkansas’ provider‑led Medicaid ‘passes’ after reporting that an insurance company had held an ownership stake that appeared to conflict with the statute’s provider‑majority intent.

DHS Deputy Director Paula Stone told the committee the department added clarifying language to the annual provider agreement that would prohibit a participating provider from being owned in whole or in part “by an entity licensed by the Arkansas Insurance Department or by any state’s insurance regulatory agency as an insurance carrier or a health maintenance organization participating in that same pass.” Stone said one pass provided written agreement to that language, one offered verbal agreement and a third said it would take the matter to its board.

Senators, led by Sen. Shawn Hammer, asked whether any insurer‑owned providers gained financially from such ownership and whether the draft language would prevent a single ownership group from effectively…