Of the plan’s 15 directors, eight are affiliated with the Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota, the newspaper reported. In the lawsuit, filed Nov. 1, the university says expanding the board would cause it to lose its majority stake on the board, and it could be left out of key decisions.
UCare told the newspaper the lawsuit is “highly speculative” and aimed at giving the university more control over the Minneapolis-based payer.
“Our team is confident that we will prevail in court because UCare’s legal governance documents clearly give the board the sole authority to make those changes,” the payer told the Star Tribune.
UCare was launched in the 1980s by the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine. The university relinquished its member interest, or ownership, of the nonprofit in 1999, UCare told the newspaper. The payer manages Medicaid contracts and also operates a large Medicare Advantage plan and an ACA exchange plan, according to the Star Tribune.
The university has requested a temporary injunction to prevent UCare from amending its charter. A judge will hear the request case Nov. 15.
The office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said it will encourage UCare and the university to resolve the dispute without litigation, as “the public interest would be best served if the parties could avoid a costly dispute.”
