MARYLAND NEWS – Some Maryland residents receiving Medicaid will lose benefits in 60 days

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Maryland’s largest managed care organization for Medicaid enrollment has had its accreditation suspended because of concerns with credentialing and quality review for its providers. The suspension was announced by a state health department official on Friday. A managed care organization is a healthcare company or plan that controls healthcare costs by supervising care through a network of contracted providers. Priority Partners has 350,000 enrollees in Medicaid. This equates to roughly 24% of the 1.5 million people enrolled in government-funded health insurance programs for low-income people. Deputy Secretary of Healthcare Financing and Medicaid director for the state’s health department Ryan Moran said that the suspension does not affect coverage benefits or access to care for current members of the plan.

However, the state is suspending any new enrollment into Priority Partners as of March 17th. Priority Partners is the only Medicaid-managed care organization in the nation. Beginning March 17th, anyone enrolled in Priority Partners will have a 60-day window to switch to another managed care organization in the state. Ryan Moran also said that the state will notify currently enrolled clients of their right to change plans if they would like to. Managed care organizations in Maryland are required to maintain and report on their accreditation with the NCQA.