December 12, 2025 LDH Announces Update to Medicaid Managed Care Contracts for 2026

BATON ROUGE, LA, Dec 12, 2025 - The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) announced it will not renew its contract with the managed care organization (MCO) UnitedHealthcare beyond the current contract expiration date of December 31, 2025.

This decision comes as LDH reaches the end of the three-year contract cycle for its six Medicaid MCOs. The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget granted LDH authority to extend contracts for an additional year through 2026. LDH will move forward with the five remaining MCOs, which include Aetna Better Health, AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana, Healthy Blue, Humana, and Louisiana Healthcare Connections.

"We have total confidence that the remaining MCOs will meet this moment to ensure successful continuity of care for these members," Seth Gold, Louisiana Medicaid Executive Director, said. "Our priority is maintaining access to physicians, hospitals and all other Medicaid services across the state for every affected member."

LDH is actively making preparations to ensure a smooth transition for all current UnitedHealthcare enrollees, who will remain enrolled with UnitedHealthcare until 11:59 p.m., December 31, 2025. Current UnitedHealthcare members will be reassigned to one of the remaining health plans with a start date of January 1, 2026.

At this time, there is no need for action by members. LDH will continue to share information through the LDH website and the Medicaid Facebook page. Current UnitedHealthcare members will receive a notification of their MCO change and new ID cards.

If you have urgent questions, you can contact the Healthy Louisiana member services hotline at 1-855-229-6848.