PROVIDENCE – UnitedHealthcare has filed a protest over the selection of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island to administer the state’s medical plans for employees and non-Medicare-eligible retirees.
In the protest, dated Aug. 21, United is asking the state to revisit the proposals.
United takes issue with BCBSRI’s score of just half a point lower on its technical proposal “despite BCBSRI’s noted deficiencies,” and claims that it would save the state more money than Blue Cross.
“The technical review committee’s flawed scoring methodology for the cost proposals artificially inflated the cost differentials between BCBSRI and UnitedHealthcare,” the company stated in its protest, which was filed with the state. “In reality, UnitedHealthcare’s projected costs would result in $10 million in savings compared to BCBSRI.”
BCBSRI was selected in July as the state’s third-party medical plan administrator, replacing UnitedHealthcare, which had held the contract since 2005.
The three-year contract will go into effect at the beginning of next year and may be renewed for up to two years.
In its protest, UnitedHealthcare also says that it met the requirements of the state’s proposal request, including the capability to handle online enrollment for Rhode Island’s open enrollment period which begins on Oct. 26. The company claims that BCBSRI must build such a system.
BCBSRI declined to address the details of UnitedHealthcare’s complaints.
“We are honored that the State of Rhode Island selected BCBSRI to administer their health benefits and look forward to the opportunity to do so,” the company said in a statement. “In line with the state’s competitive bidding process, BCBSRI submitted a bid that was responsive to the state’s request for proposal. We can’t speak to the specifics of UnitedHealthcare’s protest.”
BCBSRI’s contract is expected to be finalized this fall. According to the Department of Administration, BCBSRI projected annual fees of about $3.9 million over the next three years, while UnitedHealthcare estimated that its fees over the same time period would total about $6 million.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. Email her at Graham@PBN.com.
