Protests filed over new Medicaid contracts in Ohio

COLUMBUS (AP) — Five of the six managed-care organizations that lost bids for state Medicaid contracts have filed protests with Ohio officials.

This month, Ohio chose the contract winners that will provide health-care services for more than 1.5 million poor and disabled people.

The Columbus Dispatch reports companies that lost out on the billions of dollars in work say the Department of Job and Family Services made errors in awarding the contracts. Several companies allege scoring on bid applications was miscalculated.

A department spokesman said the protests would be reviewed but wouldn’t comment further.

The newspaper says protests are common and don’t typically affect contract awards, though a financial services company found the Ohio scoring results to be especially unusual. London-based Barclays conducted the analysis on behalf of some bidders.