TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Gov. Sam Brownback's administration expects to decide this summer which private companies will manage the $2.9 billion Medicaid program in Kansas.

Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, who led the team that developed Brownback's plan to overhaul the program, also told legislators on Monday that companies have shown "vigorous" interest in the contracts. Medicaid provides health coverage for the poor, disabled and elderly.

Brownback had a dinner for a bipartisan group of two dozen legislators at his official residence, and both he and Colyer made remarks on policy issues. The governor permitted an Associated Press reporter and photographer to observe the gathering.

Brownback's administration plans to issue three contracts this year for the Medicaid program. Each contract would start, Jan. 1, 2013, and each company would operate statewide, so that Medicaid clients would have a choice of coverage.

The overhaul represents the first time the state has attempted to cover the disabled and the elderly, including those in nursing homes, with a managed-care program.

"It takes several months," Colyer told the legislators. "It'll be this summer."

Potential contractors had until Jan. 31 to submit the technical details of their proposals to the state, and they have until Feb. 22 to submit the rest of their materials.

Fifteen companies qualified to bid by attending a mandatory state conference for potential contractors in December, but one, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Inc., the state's largest health insurance company, has since announced that it will not submit a proposal.

The Department of Administration declined a request from The Associated Press for a list of the remaining potential bidders, citing provisions of the Kansas Open Records Act that allow government agencies to keep confidential data "in the process of analysis" and records related to sealed bids.

But Colyer said "multiple organizations" are pursuing the contracts.

"That's a real positive," he said.

State medical programs provide services for an average of 380,000 people a month, and the bulk already receive state health coverage through private contractors. By bringing the disabled and elderly into a managed-care system, the state would add Kansans who need relatively expensive long-term services.

Administration officials have said the overhaul will lead to better coordination of services for high-need Medicaid participants and will eliminate duplication.

But some legislators and advocates, particularly for the disabled, have worried that the state is moving too quickly to overhaul the Medicaid program.

"I'm hearing from more and more stakeholders about how things are proceeding," House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, said after Monday evening's meeting, which he attended.