Legal Issues with Kentucky Spirit Remain; Passport Withdraws Medicaid Complaint

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Weeks after their announced departure from Kentucky’s Medicaid managed care system, operator Kentucky Spirit and the state are still locked in a legal battle.

Both sides have sued each other, blaming the other for the situation. Kentucky Spirit announced their departure, scheduled for the middle of 2013, due to massive losses in the system.

In an interim committee meeting today, Kentucky lawmakers asked for an update on what the state hoped to recoup financially because of Kentucky Spirit’s decision.

But Medicaid Commissioner Lawrence Kissner declined to provide an update saying there are still a lot of legal issues to resolve.

“I think it’s going to become a significant issue, legal issue, so ramifications of that I don’t want to go into at this time because they haven’t left,” he says.

Kissner did say that issues still remain over the actual market share Kentucky Spirit has in the private Medicaid system. 

A different dispute with Passport Health Plan in Region 3 has been withdrawn by Passport, Kissner told lawmakers.