Med-QUEST, the state’s health and medical coverage for low-income individuals, has awarded healthcare providers HMSA, United Healthcare, AlohaCare and Ohana Health Plan contracts that take effect in July.
Kaiser Permanente is noticeably missing from the list. While it was not awarded a new contract, it has joined as a subcontractor with AlohaCare.
HMSA and United Healthcare will serve Hawaii residents statewide while AlohaCare and Ohana Health Plan will only serve the island of Oahu.
A spokesperson from the Hawaii Department of Human Services, which administers Med-QUEST, explained that only four proposals were submitted for the contracts and that all four were awarded.
In a statement, DHS said that people do not need to take immediate action because Med-QUEST has a timeline in place to transition members. The department assured members that all of those affected by the changes will be able to enroll in a plan available on their island of residence.
About 337,000 people in Hawaii are covered by Medicaid/Med-QUEST.
A spokesperson from Kaiser explained that DHS required proposals to be for statewide coverage and because the provider only operates through Med-QUEST on Oahu and Maui they decided to join AlohaCare as a subcontractor.
