Unless the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (Commission) decides to cancel a procurement or delay a decision until the Legislature can act, three of the state’s largest nonprofit children’s health plans, including Driscoll Health Plan (DHP), may lose out on the state’s $9 billion annual Medicaid contract. This decision could impact 700,000 families, pregnant women, and children statewide. The Commission’s focus should be on making the right decision for the recipients rather than strictly following a flawed procurement process that affects nonprofit health plans currently serving our communities. Losing Driscoll Health Plan from this contract would be detrimental to the Corpus Christi community and the South Texas region.
DHP, which has been serving 23 counties in South Texas for over two decades, operates as a nonprofit organization with headquarters and leadership based in Corpus Christi. Unlike the for-profit entities under consideration, DHP keeps jobs in our communities and directs its funding towards meeting recipients’ needs. Excluding DHP from the contract would disrupt care for 180,000 women and children in our communities and sever essential health care relationships with providers. DHP estimates an annual expenditure of $1.2 billion in the service area, with a substantial portion of these resources remaining within the region, instead of directing administrative fees out-of-state like the new entities would.