The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) contracts with five managed care plans (MCPs) that were selected seven years ago through a competitive procurement process. ODM released a request for information (RFI) in mid-June to gather public input as its first step in the process for the next round of procurements for Ohio’s managed care contracts.
The agency is collecting feedback on current Medicaid services, what is working and ideas for improvement. According to the press release, their mission in this process is to focus on the individual rather than on the business of managed care, and this request seeks information specifically from individuals receiving Medicaid services, providers and advocates.
Feedback is being sought in multiple areas, including:
OAMES encourages everyone affected by Ohio's Medicaid managed care program to participate in the RFI. This includes HME providers, patients, caregivers, prescribers, and referral sources. A second RFI will be issued in the coming weeks for input from managed care plans. OAMES will respond to the RFI and we also encourage member companies to individually respond as well given the significant impact on the HME benefit such as the increasing use of sole source contracts by MCPs.
The deadline to reply to the RFI is July 31. It is quite extensive but ODM has stated that only portions which are of relevance to each individual needs completed. This is a critical opportunity for the public to weigh in in a meaningful way and help redirect Ohio’s MCP program and participation is essential. For more information, go the ODM RFI webpage.