Cabinet to extend current Passport contract for six months; solicit proposals for Managed Care in Region 3
FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 29, 2012) – The Cabinet for Health and Family Services today released findings of a comprehensive financial audit of Passport Health Plan that show the program has made significant improvements in accountability and financial record-keeping since its last audit, and that patient satisfaction with the health care provider remains high.
“During the last 18 months, many improvements have been made and changes have occurred with regard to the operations and management of Passport,” said Cabinet Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes. “In addition, the Cabinet’s Department for Medicaid Services has strengthened the oversight and monitoring requirements of Passport Health Plan through changes to the contract and is working collaboratively with the management of Passport to ensure the plan’s ongoing compliance.”
The new audit was ordered by Gov. Steve Beshear after a November 2010 report by former Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) Crit Luallen found a lack of internal controls and transparency, governance issues, and excessive spending and conflicts of interest by former Passport officials.
In response to the APA’s findings, the Cabinet and Passport immediately put into place a corrective action plan to address these deficiencies. Included in Passport’s response to the corrective action plan, Passport appointed a new board chair and CEO, eliminated lobbying contracts, hired a chief compliance officer and an internal auditor, and instituted targeted financial examinations.
In early 2011, the Cabinet’s Department for Medicaid Services authorized a new, comprehensive assessment of Passport, including an examination of the efficiency and appropriateness of Passport’s expenditures to support its mission of providing quality, managed health care services to Medicaid members in Region 3.
That recently completed audit examined Passport and its major subcontractors to ensure taxpayer dollars used to provide Medicaid services in the 16-county Passport region are being spent to provide health care to Medicaid beneficiaries in an efficient, cost-effective manner.
Overall, the audit found that Passport has met or taken significant steps toward satisfying the requirements outlined in the Cabinet’s corrective action plan issued in December 2010.
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