Prime West tells Hubbard County it serves 75,000 members, flags transportation fraud and warns state centralization could reduce local access

Matt Magnus, incoming CEO of Prime West Health, briefed Hubbard County commissioners on the county-owned managed-care plan that covers Medicaid and integrated Medicare/Medicaid members across 24 counties.

Magnus said Prime West now serves about 75,000 members and described the county-based purchasing (CBP) model that keeps governance and many decisions local. He told commissioners Prime West returned the large majority of premium dollars to providers in 2025 (about 92% of premium went to health-care expenses) and that the organization maintains substantial reserves (about $125 million) to avoid asking counties for additional funds.

On local impact, Magnus reported 4,658 Prime West members in Hubbard County as of February 2026. He described community reinvestment programs that have directed more than $26 million in grants to providers and local projects over time and said Prime West aims to protect rural provider networks by accepting willing local providers into its network.

Magnus also disclosed a past scheme that generated large fraudulent transportation billing: Prime West identified widespread overbilling for nonemergency trips (including frequent methadone-clinic trips billed far more often than clinic records showed), and estimated roughly $2.53 million in fraudulent rides; with legal and administrative costs the plan's case against the vendor totals about $6 million. He said Prime West tightened controls by bringing scheduling and approvals in-house and reported the company initially reported offending providers to the state licensing authority.

Commissioners asked about a recent collapse of another carrier, UKare; Magnus said state processing delays left some members in a temporary backlog and that Prime West expects some retroactive enrollment files to be issued by the state, which will require claims reprocessing and payment to local providers.

Magnus described benefits for seniors in a Prime West Medicare-integrated product (a reloadable card with up to $187 per month for healthy food purchases) and expressed concern about a recent state law that moves nonemergency medical-transportation administration to a single statewide contractor; he warned that removing local scheduling and paying only for loaded miles could discourage volunteer drivers and reduce access to rides for rural members.

Magnus urged commissioners to raise access concerns at the state level and said Prime West will continue to emphasize local responsiveness and provider support.