A judge has rejected a legal challenge by a losing bidder to what was described in court documents as “the largest contract in state history.”
Shawnee County District Court Judge Thomas Luedke on Tuesday denied Aetna’s petition for judicial review of KanCare contract awards.
The decision means the state’s awarding of new contracts won’t be delayed or blocked before they go into effect Jan. 1. It also means that Medicaid beneficiaries who currently use Aetna will have to transition to a different managed care organization.
The health insurance company was one of several bidders to respond to a request for proposals for managed care organizations to operate the state’s privatized Medicaid system. Known as KanCare, the Medicaid system serves about 420,000 people while the contracts are worth more than $4 billion.
Aetna tied for third on scoring, but was not one of the three bidders awarded a contract. The Kansas Department of Administration, Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services in May awarded contracts to Healthy Blue, Sunflower and United Healthcare .