For many providers that accept Medicaid, the new privatized program that will manage health care services for the states poor and disabled citizens is full of uncertainty.

Pending various approvals, KanCare will go live on Jan.1, 2013, replacing the states current Medicaid system.

But the state is still waiting on federal approval of the program. At this time, there is no indication the state will not obtain federal approval from the Department of Health and Human Services by the Jan. 1, 2013, implementation, according to an official at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.Under the new system, state Medicaid recipients will be assigned to one of three corporate providers, called managed care organizations. Amerigroup, UnitedHealth Care and Sunflower State Health Plan, a subsidiary of Centene, are all Fortune 500 companies with headquarters in other states.

State officials said they expect Medicaid participants will start to receive enrollment packets for the new system sometime in November.

Managed care is a growing trend throughout the U.S. All states except three enroll Medicaid beneficiaries in some kind of managed care program, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation 2011 survey.

Kansas already uses two managed care companies, UniCare and Coventry, for HealthWave, which provides low-cost insurance for uninsured children and qualifying parents, according to the KDHE.

Nearly all of Kansas 380,000 Medicaid recipients will be placed under the three managed care organizations under KanCare. The Brownback administration has said the new program will not cut benefits, limit enrollment or lower provider compensation rates but will save the state $1billion over the next five years.

Alex Melugin, an administrator for Phoenix Home Care, is concerned that many patients will lose their targeted case managers, who work to make sure people are signed up and authorized to use Medicaid under the new plan. The three companies will now be in charge of those tasks, and Melugin said its unclear how helpful the companies will be if they dont have any incentive to get people signed up.

Although Melugin said his companys reimbursement amounts will stay the same for now, he said that the word from providers in other states is that some managed care organizations reduce the number of approved hours to be spent with patients if the company thinks those extra hours are unnecessary, and that could mean less revenue for the providers.

One of our concerns is if what happened in other states happens here, but I dont think it will happen overnight, Melugin said. We are afraid they will cut approved hours down.

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Kansas providers unsure of Medicaid replacement