Recently, the book, Nursing Informatics for the Advanced Practice Nurse: Patient Safety, Quality, Outcomes, and Interprofessionalism, which features a chapter written by HMA Principal David Bergman, was awarded first place in the 2019 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Awards in the Informatics category.
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Conservative states’ Medicaid expansion offers model for Missouri expansion
A new analysis of conservative state Medicaid expansion in Arkansas, Indiana and Ohio clarifies many of the questions raised about state-level costs and budget savings of a potential Missouri expansion. Researchers at Health Management Associates interviewed leaders directly involved with expansion in these states to evaluate the policy and operational adjustments they undertook to design a budget-conscious program while maximizing state value.
HMA prepares report detailing economic implications of a Medicaid expansion in Missouri
On January 30, 2020, the Missouri Hospital Association issued a press release outlining a report prepared by Health Management Associates. Read the official press release.
The report, Medicaid Expansion in Missouri – Economic Implications for Missouri and Interviews Reflecting Arkansas, Indiana, and Ohio Experiences, was prepared by HMA MMS Managing Director Matt Powers and Managing Principal Sharon Silow-Carroll, and Jack Meyer. They conducted interviews with leaders directly involved with expansion in Arkansas, Indiana, and Ohio to evaluate the policy and operational adjustments they undertook to design a budget-conscious program while maximizing state value. Those interviews allowed clarification of many of the questions raised about state-level costs and budget savings of a potential Missouri expansion.
The report was commissioned by the Missouri Hospital Association and Missouri Primary Care Association and released in partnership with stakeholders from the healthcare community.
Exploring value-based payment opportunities for long-term care providers
This week, our In Focus section reviews value-based payment (VBP) opportunities for long-term care providers. HMA Principal Dana McHugh authored the article, “Life Plan Communities and Value-Based Payments: Aligning Incentives So Everyone Benefits”, for LeadingAge national magazine, discussing how life plan communities can establish value-based payment arrangements with managed care organizations (MCOs) to maximize value and add additional revenue streams.
New NCQA scoring – what health plans should know
Starting in 2020, a systemic shift will change the way health plans prepare for, and are scored, during National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accreditation. With the focus on quality of care, this transition means keeping up with new requirements is important now more than ever.
DC and Kentucky Medicaid Managed Care RFPs
This week, our In Focus section reviews two Medicaid managed care requests for proposals (RFPs) released on January 10, 2020. The District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) issued an RFP for the DC Healthy Families Program (DCHFP); the District of Columbia Healthcare Alliance Program (Alliance); and the Immigrant Children’s Program (ICP) as part of a broader effort to fully transition Medicaid to managed care over the next five years. The new contracts will cover approximately 224,000 lives. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) released a statewide Medicaid managed care RFP to serve approximately 1.2 million lives. In December 2019, Kentucky announced that it will cancel and rebid the current Medicaid managed care contracts.
Texas STAR Kids – Dallas Service Area RFP
This week, our In Focus section reviews the Texas STAR Kids Medicaid Managed Care in the Dallas Service Area (SA) request for proposals (RFP) released by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) on December 13, 2019. The RFP comes after Children’s Medical Center, which covers approximately 9,000 members under the program, said it would be leaving the market. The contracts for the SA are worth approximately $500 million. Anthem/Amerigroup will remain in the Dallas SA and continue to provide services. STAR Kids provides Medicaid coverage to individuals with disabilities under age 21.
Midwest Health Plan Earns NCQA Accreditation
THE CLIENT
A managed care health system serving the comprehensive needs of communities and offering care delivery sites across the Midwest.
THE CHALLENGE
The client wanted to expand its reach by offering its Marketplace product in in a nearby state. T he state requires either National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accreditation or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approval to determine network adequacy and allow plans to operate in the state. The client, already established with HMA in other states, reached out to secure our services to help them with the accreditation process.
While NCQA accreditation is never easy, this process was complicated by several factors including a six-month timeline in order to start processing requests during the open enrollment period, as well as a complex company structure.
APPROACH
Working on-site, HMA’s experts assembled a team from the client’s staff to assist with the accreditation process and completed a second-level review of every document as they readied the accreditation submission. After submission, HMA consultants helped the team answer two rounds of complex questions in response to requests from NCQA.
The biggest challenges were questions regarding the company’s organizational structure because the plan operates under different names in different states. Multiple-state accreditation is a challenge to explain to NCQA, but HMA’s seasoned experts were able to create a very clear document and explanation that showed the organizational structure and sole ownership of the health plan. This was crucial because it was a non-typical issue and questions needed to be answered in a satisfactory manner in order to ensure accreditation and the ability to sell the plan’s product during open enrollment for 2020.
In addition, in order to ensure the accreditation was secured in time, our team was able to obtain an expedited decision from NCQA. Preparing for accreditation is usually a year-long process, but the team was able to complete the process and secure accreditation in less than six months.
RESULTS
The client was granted interim accreditation status on November 15, 2019, in time for the plan to enter the marketplace for open enrollment. Coming up just two points short of a perfect score, the plan reached its goal of opening services in the state.
In addition to helping the client reach its goal, HMA experts continue to work with the company to tailor and implement a Survey Ready Model to ensure they are prepared for the next accreditation cycle. HMA also is providing accreditation services to the client in two additional states.
The company president and chief executive officer said accreditation would not have been possible without HMA’s expertise and guidance.
West Virginia releases Medicaid managed care RFP
This week, our In Focus section reviews the West Virginia Mountain Health Trust request for proposals (RFP) released by the West Virginia Department of Administration (DOA) for the Department for Health and Human Resources (DHHR) on December 17, 2019. Mountain Health Trust (MHT) is the statewide physical and behavioral Medicaid managed care program. West Virginia will award contracts, worth over $1.5 billion, to three managed care organizations (MCOs), with implementation beginning July 1, 2020.