ARH Seeks To Add Defendants To Lawsuit

{Lexington, Kentucky}…Attorneys for Appalachian Regional Healthcare are trying to add the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as defendants in its lawsuit filed in April 2012 against Coventry Cares and the state of Kentucky. In a motion filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Lexington, ARH alleged the federal agency's failure to scrutinize the Cabinet for Health and Family Services has resulted in an unstable managed-care system that is heading toward eventual collapse. In November 2011, more than 540,000 Medicaid members from 104 Kentucky counties were moved to Kentucky Spirit, Coventry Cares and WellCare. Under managed care, the state pays the companies a set fee per patient regardless of the amount of services the patient needs.