Some of the ends are coming aloose

Just last week, we noted that John Bel was gearing up for reelection by paying off Gayle Benson with a sweetheart deal for Superdome renovations right before he paid off Jim Bernhard with this Energy Partners/Johnson Controls deal. So far so good.

But the largest contracts let by the state are with the managed care firms who administer the state's privatized Medicaid program. Altogether these contracts total something close to $8 billion. The current deals were negotiated during the Jindal administration (that process was not without its controversies) and were kept in place by John Bel even after the state accepted the Medicaid expansion.

Those contracts are up for renewal now and, for whatever reason... just ahead of election time... John Bel has decided to shake things up a bit. The new deal brings the number of contractors down from five to four. It also replaces another of the existing companies.  Humana has been cut in while Aetna and Louisiana Healthcare Connections are out. Which means we have to ask who is John Bel paying off here and what is their relationship with Humana? 

We don't know the answer to that yet. But we do know LHCC has a friend in Cedric Richmond's orbit.

U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, penned a letter Friday to Edwards raising concerns about the decision to drop Louisiana Healthcare Connections from the state’s managed care system. He warned of lost jobs in his district and said 84,000 of his constituents receive health care through LHC’s network, raising the possibility of patients losing access to their providers with the change.

Today LHCC and Aetna have filed some sort of appeal.  And a joint legislative committee will begin considering the new contracts sometime in September. Again, right in the middle of election season. Can't imagine anybody there would be up to making any mischief for any reason.