Mississippi's House of Representatives passed an amendment to a bill that would bar the state from contracting Medicaid services to entities that have settled with the state for over $50 million — a move specifically targeting Centene — according to the Daily Journal.
Centene filed a $55 million no-fault settlement with the state in June following an investigation as to whether the payer misrepresented costs to collect overpayments.
The legislation, which was filed as an amendment to a separate Medicaid bill, would effectively end the state's relationship with Centene and require it to use nonprofit entities for Medicaid administration moving forward.
"I am for doing away with our business to a company who took $55 million of our money that was supposed to be spent on the poor, the sick, the elderly, the mentally ill, the disabled," State Rep. Becky Currie, the amendment's author, told the Daily Journal.
The House passed the bill 113-4, giving it strong momentum as it seeks approval in the Republican-controlled Senate and from Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, according to Y'all Politics.
However, a motion to reconsider included in the bill's passage means the legislation can continue to be deliberated in the House through Feb. 11.