Ohio's Largest Medicaid-Managed Plan Provider And Cleveland Clinic May Cut Ties

CLEVELAND, OH — The Cleveland Clinic and the state's largest Medicaid-managed care plan provider, CareSource, are close to terminating a contract. That could mean approximately 1.3 million Ohioans may need to find a hospital system for treatement.

The contract is slated to end on Sept. 1. CareSource plans will still be accepted at University Hospitals and MetroHealth, should the contract be terminated. The Cleveland Clinic will accept other Medicaid plans besides those provided by CareSource.

"We are hopeful for a contract resolution with Cleveland Clinic and continue to keep the lines of communication open," a spokesperson for CareSource said in an email to Patch. "Due to requirements by the Ohio Department of Medicaid we must notify our members that may be impacted, 45 days prior to a potential contract termination. To help our membership maintain health care access and continuity of care the notification letters will be sent this week. The letter includes a list of alternate high quality health partners for our members in the Cleveland region."

Those alternative locations include University Hospitals, MetroHealth, Neighborhood Family, and other systems.

The Plain Dealer originally reported on the possible severing of contractual ties between CareSource and the Cleveland Clinic. In fact, the Clinic's first statement on the matter was that the hospital system would no longer be a provider for CareSource.

The Clinic later walked back that statement, saying, "Regrettably, we recently received notice from CareSource that they may terminate our relationship. CareSource members can still come here for care as they do today," the Clinic said in a statement late Monday. "In the event this relationship ends, patients may need to select another Medicaid plan to access Cleveland Clinic. We will work with CareSource to provide continuity of care for those patients."

Photo from Cleveland Clinic