State rejects health insurers’ pleas to halt plan that will shake up coverage for 1.8 million Texans

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas officials have rejected attempts by several major insurers for needy families to cancel a proposal that would drop them from the state Medicaid program and shake up the coverage of nearly 2 million low-income Texans.

At issue are some $116 billion in Medicaid contracts that Texas Health and Human Services officials are attempting to award by the end of the summer, a plan announced earlier this year that has drawn wide criticism because it would eliminate three major health plans run for decades by the state’s premiere nonprofit children’s hospitals.

Some 1.8 million Texans who receive Medicaid coverage from six managed care organizations across the state would lose their current health plans and be shifted to new insurers next year if the decision stands.

Medicaid STAR and CHIP programs cover the cost of routine, acute and emergency medical visits. STAR is primarily for pregnant women, low-income children and their caretakers. CHIP provides health care to low-income children whose family’s income is too high for Medicaid, which has some of the lowest income limits in the country.

Thursday’s decision is a significant step toward finalizing the plan, which would:

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