We are a multi-state managed care organization that arranges for the delivery of health care services to persons eligible for Medicaid, Medicare, and other government-sponsored programs for low-income families and individuals. We conduct our business primarily through licensed health plans in the states of California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Utah, and Washington. The health plans are locally operated by our respective wholly owned subsidiaries in those states, each of which is licensed as a health maintenance organization. Our revenues are derived primarily from premium revenues paid to our health plans by the relevant state Medicaid authority, which revenues are jointly financed by the federal and state governments. Increasingly, we also derive revenues from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, in connection with our Medicare services. As of December 31, 2009, approximately 1,455,000 members were enrolled in our health plans.
The payments made to our health plans generally represent an agreed upon amount per member per month, or a “capitation” amount, which is paid regardless of whether the member utilizes any medical services in that month or whether the member utilizes medical services in excess of the capitation amount. Each of our health plans is thus financially “at risk” for the medical care of its members. Each health plan contracts with health care providers in the relevant communities or states in which it operates, including primary care physicians, specialist physicians, physician groups, hospitals, and other medical care providers. These health care providers then provide medical care to the health plan’s enrolled members. Various core administrative functions of our health plans — primarily claims processing, information systems, and finance — are centralized at our corporate parent in Long Beach, California. Our California health plan also operates 17 of its own primary care community clinics; we have a Virginia subsidiary which manages three county-owned primary care community clinics in Fairfax County, Virginia; and our Washington health plan recently began operating its own behavioral health clinic.
Dr. C. David Molina founded our Company in 1980 under the name “Molina Medical Centers” as a provider organization serving the Medicaid population in Southern California through a network of primary care clinics. Since then, we have increased our membership through the start-up development of new health plan operations, the acquisition of existing health plans, and internal or organic growth. Key milestones in our history have included the following:
On January 18, 2010, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Health Information Management, or HIM, business of Unisys Corporation. The HIM business provides design, development, implementation, and business process outsourcing solutions to state governments for their Medicaid Management Information Systems, or MMIS. MMIS is a core tool used to support the administration of state Medicaid and other health care entitlement programs. The HIM business currently holds MMIS contracts with the states of Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, New Jersey, and West Virginia, as well as a contract to provide drug rebate administration services for the Florida Medicaid program. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2010. We intend to operate the HIM business under the name, Molina Medicaid Solutions.
Our principal executive offices are located at 200 Oceangate, Suite 100, Long Beach, California 90802, and our telephone number is (562) 435-3666. Our website is www.molinahealthcare.com.
Our Industry
The Medicaid and CHIP Programs. Established in 1965, the Medicaid program is an entitlement program funded jointly by the federal and state governments and administered by the states. The Medicaid program provides health care benefits to low-income families and individuals. Each state establishes its own eligibility standards, benefit packages, payment rates, and program administration within broad federal statutory and regulatory guidelines. The most common state-administered Medicaid program is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF (often pronounced “TAN-if”). TANF is the successor to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, or AFDC, and most enrolled members are mothers and their children. Another common state-administered Medicaid program is for the aged, blind, or disabled, or ABD Medicaid members, who do not qualify under other Medicaid coverage categories. Although state programs must meet minimum federal standards, states have significant flexibility in determining eligibility thresholds, the amount of covered services, and payment rates for providers.
In addition, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known widely by the acronym CHIP, is a joint federal and state matching program that provides health care coverage to children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid coverage, but not enough to afford commercial health insurance. States have the option of administering CHIP through their Medicaid programs.
The federal government pays a portion of the costs that states incur to provide services to Medicaid enrollees. The proportion of states’ costs that the federal government pays is based on the “federal medical assistance percentage,” or FMAP. The percentage for each state is determined through a formula that assigns a higher federal reimbursement rate to states that have lower income per capita (and vice versa) relative to the national average. Prior to the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or ARRA, the average matching rate that the federal government paid was 57 percent nationwide; states contributed the remaining 43 percent. The federal matching rates have both a floor (50 percent) and a ceiling (83 percent). The matching rates for CHIP are approximately one-third higher than those under Medicaid. Generally, states have more programmatic flexibility in CHIP than in Medicaid.
As part of ARRA, enacted on February 17, 2009, states were scheduled to receive approximately $87 billion in assistance for their Medicaid programs through a temporary increase in the FMAP match rate. The funding is effective from October 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. Under ARRA, every state has received a minimum FMAP increase of 6.2 percent. The balance of funding is based on unemployment rates in the states. In order to receive this additional FMAP increase, states may not reduce Medicaid eligibility levels below the eligibility levels that were in place on July 1, 2008. Medicaid is classified as an entitlement, and therefore there is no limit on the federal funds that may be expended. Federal payments for Medicaid are limited only by the amount states are willing and able to spend. Nevertheless, budgetary constraints at both the federal and state levels may limit the benefits paid and the number of members served by Medicaid. CHIP, however, is a capped allotment. Pursuant to the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 enacted on February 4, 2009, CHIP was reauthorized and expanded to cover up to a total of 11 million children by 2011. The legislation also provided an additional $32.8 billion in funding over the next four-and-a-half years, and allows states to expand coverage up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. CHIP will continue to be funded at an enhanced match, with a minimum federal amount of 65 percent.
On March 10, 2010, the United States Senate approved legislation which would allocate $25 billion to the extension by six months of the 6.2% increase in the FMAP provided under ARRA. If this legislation is passed by the House and signed into law by President Obama, the increased FMAP paid to the states will continue through June 30, 2011.
Medicaid Managed Care. Under traditional fee-for-service Medicaid programs, health care services are made available to beneficiaries in an uncoordinated manner. These beneficiaries typically have minimal access to preventive care such as immunizations, and access to primary care physicians is limited. As a consequence, treatment is often postponed until medical conditions become more severe, leading to higher utilization of costly emergency room services. In addition, because providers are paid on a fee-for-service basis where additional services rendered result in additional revenues, they lack incentives to monitor utilization and control costs.
In an effort to improve quality and provide more uniform and more cost-effective care, many states have implemented Medicaid managed care programs. Such programs seek to improve access to coordinated health care services, including preventive care, and to control health care costs. Under Medicaid managed care programs, a health plan receives capitation payments for the covered health care services. The health plan, in turn, arranges for the provision of the covered health care services by contracting with a network of providers, including both physicians and hospitals, who agree to provide the covered services to the health plan’s members. The health plan also monitors quality of care and implements preventive programs, thereby striving to improve access to care while more effectively controlling costs.