Alabama lawmakers to take up medicaid reform

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Both houses of the Alabama Legislature will begin work on a bill in two weeks that could move Medicaid to a for-profit, managed care model. Committee meetings and public hearings will be held to discuss proposed legislation based on the work of a 33-member committee created last year. If passed, the bill would build a framework that the State Medicaid Agency would operate within to deliver comprehensive health care to Medicaid consumers. The plan calls for up to eight regions within the state that would be independently managed within their borders. Existing for-profit companies outside of the state have expressed interest in filling those roles, but local provider-led groups can form to become regional leaders. If the legislation passes, it would not be fully implemented until 2017.