UnitedHealthCare to end contract with BadgerCare - WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports

UnitedHealthCare to end contract with BadgerCare

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By Amie Winters - bio | email

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- UnitedHealthCare says it plans to end its contract with the state of Wisconsin to manage care for thousands of people on BadgerCare Plus.

BadgerCare is one of the state's Medicaid programs. UnitedHealthCare is the largest of four organizations that won contracts with the state in 2010. It oversees care for 174,000 people in southeastern Wisconsin.

UnitedHealthCare says its decision is based on the state's declining payment rates. The state Department of Health Services says the rates are recalculated each year to account for medical costs.

Department spokeswoman Stephanie Smiley says those people whose care is currently managed by UnitedHealthCare won't be affected by the company's decision. Smiley tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the state will pay hospitals, doctors and other health care providers directly, rather than through UnitedHealthCare.

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