States balk at terminating Medicaid contracts even when there's fraud or poor patient care

In Florida, a national managed care company's former top executives were convicted in a scheme to rip off Medicaid. In Illinois, a state official concluded two Medicaid plans were providing 'abysmal' care. In Ohio, a nonprofit paid millions to settle civil fraud allegations that it failed to screen special needs children and faked data. Despite these problems, state health agencies in these - and other states - continued to contract with the plans to provide services to patients on Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor and disabled. Health care experts say that's because states are reluctant to drop Medicaid plans out of fear of leaving patients in a bind.