Medicaid news: Provider leaves Wash. State; Lawsuits in Calif., Iowa

Regence BlueShield is leaving Washington's Medicaid market and several news outlets analyze Medi-Cal lawsuits.

The Lund Report: Regence BlueShield Decides to Leave Washington's Medicaid Market
Regence BlueShield is pulling out of the Medicaid market in Washington [state], after deciding not to bid on a new contract that takes effect in July. Since 2002, Regence has been covering pregnant women, children and people who qualify for temporary assistance in seven counties in Western Washington under a program known as Healthy Options. Currently, it covers approximately 38,000 people (Lund-Muzikant, 1/5).

Des Moines Register: DHS Sued Over Medicaid Contract Award
A North Dakota company is suing the Iowa Department of Human Services, alleging the agency unfairly awarded another company a $140 million contract to manage part of Iowa's Medicaid system. Noridian Administrative Services wants a judge to review the state agency's decision to pay a company called Accenture to handle Iowa's Medicaid Management Information System (Kauffman, 1/5).

The Sacramento Bee: Medi-Cal Care Trumps California's Fiscal Woes, Judge Rules
The state's fiscal crisis does not outweigh access to health care, a federal judge said in temporarily blocking state Medi-Cal cuts that rural hospitals say would have endangered skilled nursing care for their elderly and long-term patients. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder in Los Angeles federal court Dec. 28 puts the brakes on Medi-Cal cuts that were intended to save California up to $623 million (Smith, 1/6).

California Healthline: State Starts Year Facing Multiple Lawsuits, Hearings
Toby Douglas has his name on a lot of lawsuits. As the director of the Department of Health Care Services, it is Douglas' name that appears on many of the lawsuits challenging cuts to health care services.  ... The list of health care associations suing the state over the 10% cut in provider reimbursement rates for Medi-Cal -- California's Medicaid program -- is a long one. Two of those cases already have resulted in judicial decisions to block those reductions (Gorn, 1/5).