Alabama Delaying Medicaid Shift To Managed Care

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says Medicaid’s shift to managed care will be pushed back until October amid uncertainty about funding and what changes the Trump administration might bring to Medicaid.

Alabama since 2013 has been working on shifting Medicaid patients to managed care provided by Regional Care Organizations. The idea is that preventative care would cut down on expensive medical emergencies later and provide patients better outcomes.

The RCO’s were supposed to begin in October of this year but were delayed amid budget concerns. Bentley said the target implementation is being pushed back from July to October of 2017.

He said that will give the state time to continue working on getting the program ready.

Bentley said he is committed with moving forward with the concept of Medicaid managed care.