Four payers were competing to run the state’s Medicaid program. UnitedHealthcare of New England and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island were awarded contracts in July. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Tufts Health Plan were disqualified because they did not meet the minimum required score on the technical portion of their proposals. Insurers were required to score at least 85 points out of a possible 100 on their technical proposals. BCBS scored 63.22 and Tufts scored 54.38.
BCBS and Tufts separately filed appeals, alleging that there were flaws with the scoring criteria, according to the report.
A new review committee is being set up to take a new look at all four bids, according to the report. The new committee will include a representative from the state division of purchasing and at least one other state agency. The original review committee was composed entirely of employees from the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services. BCBS said the original committee makeup violated state procurement rules.
The new contracts were set to go into effect on July 1, 2025. The state did not immediately respond to a question from the Rhode Island Current on whether the reevaluation would affect the start date.
