Cook Children’s sues Texas over potential Medicaid contract loss

(The Texas Tribune) – Cook Children’s Health Plan has filed two lawsuits against the state to stop the Texas Health and Human Services Commission from removing them as a longstanding Medicaid contractor. In a news conference on Wednesday, the Fort Worth-based health care system announced the lawsuits as an attempt to halt the $116 billion Medicaid procurement process that removes Cook Children’s and two other hospital-affiliated children’s health plans from Medicaid STAR and Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP. Related Stories The proposed shake-up would remove Cook Children’s Health Plan in the state’s Tarrant service area, Texas Children’s Health Plan in the Harris region, and Driscoll Health Plan in South Texas in favor of private companies. Together, the three plans operate as managed care organizations that provide Medicaid coverage to Texans in their respective regions. The three plans, formed two decades ago, serve more than 700,000 families, pregnant women and children. If the state’s health agency’s decision stands, it would mean reducing the number of managed care organizations that administer STAR and CHIP, shifting toward national for-profit health companies in most areas of the state. It will also require the nearly 1.8 million Texans who receive Medicaid coverage...