Attorney General Doug Peterson is pleased to announce that litigation concerning the implementation of the Heritage Health Medicaid system has been concluded in the State’s favor. This afternoon, Plaintiffs Coventry Health Care of Nebraska, Inc. (d/b/a Aetna Better Health of Nebraska) and AmeriHealth Nebraska, Inc. (d/b/a Arbor Health Plan), filed notices in federal court indicating they are dropping their challenges to the State’s bidding process for health plan participation in Heritage Health, a system that will unify delivery of physical health, behavioral health, and pharmacy services to approximately 233,000 Nebraska Medicaid beneficiaries. Earlier this year, the Plaintiffs had unsuccessfully bid for shares of state contracts totaling approximately $1.2 billion a year to oversee Heritage Health. As part of their lawsuit, the Plaintiffs earlier requested a preliminary injunction to place the project’s implementation on hold pending additional litigation. That request was rejected by United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., last Friday.

“I am pleased that Judge Rossiter’s sound and well-reasoned order will stand and that the Plaintiffs have declined to further litigate their challenges to this critically important project,” said Peterson.