The July 1 transition that would have transferred prior authorization requests to Carelon Medical Benefits Management for Medicaid programs in Maryland, Missouri, and Wisconsin has been put on hold.
In a June 28 bulletin, the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) said the transition “has been postponed until further notice. Suppliers in Maryland, Missouri, and Wisconsin should continue to follow the current process when requesting authorizations for DMEPOS services under Medicaid.”
Maryland’s Medicaid program, Wellpoint Maryland, announced the postponement on June 17. The Missouri (Healthy Blue) and Wisconsin (Anthem Blue Cross) Medicaid programs made the same announcement on the same date. None of the programs indicated when the delays would be lifted or the reasons behind the delays.
The Medicaid programs described Carelon Medical Benefits Management Inc. as “an independent company providing utilization management services on behalf of the health plan.”