Democratic senators urge tougher oversight of Medicaid technology contractors

Three Democratic senators are urging the federal government to impose stricter rules on contractors that build or run state Medicaid eligibility systems. The lawmakers, Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, and Raphael Warnock, made recommendations a year after opening an inquiry into Deloitte, General Dynamics Information Technology, Gainwell Technologies, and Conduent.

The senators want the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish mandatory standards in state contracts and make contracts, amendments, company performance data, and change orders public. They warned that system errors could cause eligible people to lose coverage, as states prepare for Medicaid policy changes. The federal government covers 90% of state costs to develop and implement eligibility systems and 75% of ongoing maintenance and operations expenses, according to federal regulations. CMS announced in August that it intends to develop standards for Medicaid systems. The lawmakers’ recommendations face long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress, according to KFF Health News.