ActivStyle drops out of IlliniCare

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - ActivStyle, a Minneapolis-based provider of incontinence supplies, is dropping out of IlliniCare Health's network after “a year of operating at a loss,” CEO Gayle Devin has told Crain's Chicago Business. IlliniCare, a private insurer in the state's overhauled Medicaid managed care program, implemented cuts of up to 50% on Jan. 1 for everything from wheelchairs to ventilators. “We finally said, 'We love these (patients)—we've been servicing some of them since we entered the Illinois market in 2002—but we won't compromise and go to a lower-quality product,” she told the newspaper. “We know it's going to lead to poor outcomes.” ActivStyle's exit means 1,000 patients will have to find another in-network provider for their incontinence supplies, according to Crain's Chicago. The provider notified IlliniCare of its decision on Nov. 1. Earlier this year, a bill was introduced in the Illinois General Assembly that would help to address concerns surrounding the cuts. House Bill 5930 would prohibit supply companies from being paid less than 10% below Medicaid fee-for-service rates by MCOs. Devin told Crain's Chicago if ActivStyle needs to be the “sacrificial lamb” to move the bill forward, “it's a worthy cause.”