Only for Medicaid: Patients Can Now Choose Tufts Health Plan

CRANSTON, RI — Rhode Island has 250,000 people on Medicaid. Until now, they've had to choose between Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island and the United Healthcare Community Plan. But now, they have a new option. Tufts Health Plan has signed a contract with the State of Rhode Island "to provide comprehensive health care services for Rhode Island’s Medicaid population," the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said Thursday.

United Healthcare Community Plan and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island also signed contacts. All three pacts are effective for five years with five optional one-year extensions, the state said.

"Rhode Island has contracted with Neighborhood Health Plan of RI and United Healthcare Community Plan since 1994," the state said. "The most recent contract rebid was in 2010. All three health plans are highly rated by the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) and have consistently ranked among the top Medicaid health plans in the country for many years.

"Tufts Health Plan currently offers employer-sponsored health plans in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as Medicare, Medicaid and Marketplace plans in Massachusetts," the state said. This means employed Rhode Islanders in companies that offered Tufts could be insured through the Tufts Health Plan. But as individuals or as Medicare or Medicaid recipients, Rhode Islanders were not able to apply for Tufts. Tufts "health plans continually rank among the top health plans in the country based on quality and member satisfaction," the state said.

"The State anticipates holding an Open Enrollment period this summer to allow Medicaid members the option to stay in their current health plan or switch health plans. Currently, Neighborhood’s membership represents approximately 66 percent of the total Medicaid managed care population in Rhode Island and United Healthcare represents 33 percent of the total. The new Tufts Health Plan will be called RITogether and will begin enrolling new Medicaid members as early as June 2017.

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