Louisiana yanks a Medicaid contract, pushing 345,000 people to other plans

Louisiana has halted a contract with UnitedHealthcare to provide Medicaid coverage for roughly 345,000 people in Louisiana, less than a month before next year’s agreement was set to take effect.

People on the UnitedHealthcare plan will be redistributed to other plans, the Louisiana Department of Health said.

Medicaid Director Seth Gold said in a letter to the health plan dated Dec. 2 that the department will not renew its contract, which expires Dec. 31.

“LDH will begin the transition process of moving your Medicaid members to other contracted Medicaid Managed Care Plans for a January 1, 2026 effective date,” the letter says. “We expect United to continue to abide by all of the terms of its current contract with LDH through the expiration date. We also expect your full cooperation with