TOPEKA — The state of Kansas is extending its contract with a Medicaid applications processing contractor, even though the company has been chronically understaffed and has received poor marks for its performance.
Kansas contracted with Maximus two years ago to operate the KanCare Clearinghouse. The Wichita Eagle says the state contract called for 98 percent accuracy on financial payments, but Maximus was only hitting 40 percent at a time when it was falling behind on its processing. Thousands of Medicaid applications were unprocessed at one point, and Maximus missed a June 1 deadline to improve its performance.
The state won’t sue Maximus, but KDHE Secretary Jeff Andersen says the contractor will give the state up to $10 million in unspecified concessions and KDHE will start processing the most problematic KanCare applications next year. Andersen also says the state can’t process all the incoming Medicaid applications and it also can’t bring in new contractors when the current contract with Maximus ends in January.
