First companies licensed under Act 775

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr today released the following statement announcing that he has granted Certificates of Authority to three new domestic companies under the provisions of Act 775 of 2017, the Medicaid Provider-Led Organized Care Act:

“I am proud to issue the first licenses to provider-led organizations under Act 775 and welcome them as domestic insurance companies.  These companies have demonstrated initial financial resources and organizational structure as well as adequate network coverage as deemed by the Department of Human Services.  This is an important step for Arkansas in establishing a unique system to serve Medicaid beneficiaries.”

Kerr granted authority to Arkansas Total Care, Inc. (ATC), a newly formed Arkansas-based For Profit Corporation, to be a domestic Risk-Based Provider Organization under Act 775 and AID Rule 117.  ATC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Total Care Holding Company, LLC.  The ownership of the holding company is held by Mercy Health System, LifeShare Management Group, and Arkansas Health & Wellness Health Plan Inc.  LifeShare and AHWHP are owned by Centene Corporation.  Centene, a Fortune 500 company, is a multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to government sponsored healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Mercy serves millions annually and its system includes 44 acute care and specialty hospitals, more than 700 physician practices and outpatient facilities and over 2,000 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. LifeShare develops and delivers person-centered solutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through manage care, state, and health organizations across multiple states. AHWHP is an Arkansas domestic health maintenance organization.  ATC’s statutory home office will be located at 1 Allied Drive, Suite 2520 in Little Rock.

Kerr granted authority to Arkansas Advanced Care, Inc. (AAC), a newly formed Arkansas-based For Profit Corporation, to be a domestic Risk-Based Provider Organization under Act 775 and AID Rule 117.  AAC will be owned and operated by Baptist Health, Bost, Inc., the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and USAble Corporation.  The members of AAC advocate the goal to ensure that Arkansas’s residents receive the high quality, efficient care with innovative delivery and payment arrangements and population health programs to help transform Arkansas to an organized system of care.  AAC’s owners are headquartered in Arkansas and rooted in a not for profit mission of delivering healthcare to Arkansas residents. The company’s statutory home office will be located at 320 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 211 in Little Rock.

Kerr also granted authority to Empower Healthcare Solutions, LLC (EHS), a newly formed Arkansas-based For Profit Corporation, to be a domestic Risk-Based Provider Organization under Act 775 and AID Rule 117.  EHS is a group of seven members that advocate the goals of formation to include creating a provider-led organized care system to improve the experience of health care for Medicaid individuals, enhancing the performance of the broader healthcare system, reversing the spending growth for Medicaid individuals, and encouraging the most efficient use of taxpayer funds. The seven members of EHS are Beacon Health Options, Inc., Woodruff Health Group, LLC, Independent Case Management, Inc., Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc., Arkansas Community Health Network, LLC, The Arkansas Healthcare Alliance, LLC, and Statera, LLC.  Beacon is an independent privately-owned company and one of the nation’s largest organizations that assesses and address the clinical needs of individuals who are experiencing mental illness, addiction, and developmental disabilities.  EHS’s statutory home office will be located at 400 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 1711 in Little Rock.

A total of five entities expressed interest in forming provider-led organizations under Act 775.  So far this year, Kerr has granted authority to 23 new companies.

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