MN Association of County Health Plans Sues Minnesota DHS

February 24, 2022

The Minnesota Association of County Health Plans (MACHP) filed a lawsuit on February 17 against the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) for its 2022 Minnesota Health Care Program Procurement plan.  

MACHP, which represents the three, multi-county organizations that provide Medical Assistance coverage through county-based health plans, claims that DHS is not complying with existing Minnesota state statutes that authorize these plans. These statutes give Minnesota counties the authority to choose whether to implement either a prepaid managed care or county-based purchasing (CBP) health plan. The statutes further require DHS to fund the county-based purchasing health plan while prohibiting DHS to implement a prepaid medical assistance plan (PMAP) until the CBP is no longer operational. 

The three members of MACHP - Itasca Medical Care, PrimeWest Health, and South Country Health Alliance - cover nearly 83,000 Minnesotans in 22 counties in rural Minnesota. 

MACHP argues that CBPs are needed in rural counties to “ensure quality affordable health care, and to best serve low-income residents.” 

In its 2022 procurement plan, DHS has indicated that it will require all counties to have a PMAP plan and that they may select county-based plans if they meet additional DHS criteria.  

MACHP’s lawsuit argues that DHS cannot implement PMAP plans in counties that have opted for CBPs and further, that DHS must fund those CBPs.