Aetna has apologized to Kansas lawmakers after the state threatened to terminate the Hartford, Conn.-based insurer's Medicaid contract for failing on the $1 billion annual agreement, according to the Leavenworth Times.
Kansas officials sent a notice of noncompliance to Aetna earlier this summer, outlining such problems as complaints of delayed payments to hospitals and physicians and absence of transparency regarding covered physicians and specialists.
Randy Hyun, senior vice president for Aetna Medicaid, apologized for the issues Aug. 27 in front of Kansas lawmakers.
He told the lawmakers he "take[s] full accountability for where we are," and that feedback to Aetna from providers and state officials, and "some of the things we’ve seen internally," has been "extremely disappointing," according to the Times.
"I want to apologize for not living up to expectations that I've had for our plan," he added. "We preach operational excellence, and we certainly have not demonstrated that to you."
The notice of noncompliance was sent July 24 to Aetna, which serves about 100,000 Medicaid beneficiaries in Kansas via the state's privatized Medicaid system, KanCare.
After notification from the state, Aetna submitted a correction plan to state officials, public radio station KCUR reported. However, state officials told the station the plan did not address the issues, and they have met with the insurer.
Subsequently, Aetna revealed it is changing up its Kansas leadership, including the departure of Keith Wisdom, who was CEO of Aetna's Kansas subsidiary, Aetna Better Health of Kansas. The insurer has also brought in an interim CEO of the Aetna division in Kansas and repositioned Deb Bacon, a regional vice president at Aetna Medicaid, according to the Leavenworth Times.
Aetna's Medicaid contract in Kansas initially began in January.