An administrative law judge has scheduled a September hearing in cases filed by two health plans that allege the state improperly shut them out of new Medicaid managed-care contracts.
Judge Robert Cohen on Monday issued a notice scheduling the hearing Sept. 4-6 and Sept. 9-13 in Tallahassee.
The health plans AmeriHealth Caritas Florida Inc. and Sentara Care Alliance LLC are challenging decisions by the state Agency for Health Care Administration to deny them contracts to manage care for Medicaid beneficiaries.
The agency in April announced it intended to award contracts to five health plans and added three plans in July. With about 3.1 million Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in managed-care plans, the multiyear contracts involve tens of billions of dollars.
AmeriHealth Caritas and Sentara are challenging various aspects of a yearlong procurement process that led to the contract decisions.
Another health plan, ImagineCare LLC, dropped a challenge this month.
Lawmakers in 2011 created a system in which most Medicaid beneficiaries are required to enroll in managed-care plans.
The agency has gone through lengthy contracting processes three times, including the process that started in 2023 and ended this spring.
In the past, it awarded contracts in 11 regions of the state; that was scaled back to nine regions in the latest process.
