Introduction
This month, we are featuring a new report by the Health Policy News Team: “Innovative Approaches to Accountable Care”. This report aims to assist those states that are thinking about integrating alternative care delivery methods into their Medicaid program or commercial insurance marketplace. To accompany this report, HPN will host an overview of the report and discussion of new and innovative approaches accountable care delivery in mid-November. Below, we have included information on how to join us for this webinar.
Additionally, as part of our ongoing coverage of several of the premier health policy conferences across the nation, this edition includes a piece from our Home and Community Based Service (HCBS) team, featuring insights from the annual National HCBS Conference in August. As well as building upon our recent report on critical incident management, this write-up features updates on key topics including electronic visit verification, the HCBS Settings final rule, and rate setting and value-based payment models. Plus, if you’re interested in more conference coverage, keep an eye on our blog in November! We look forward to bringing you insights from the recent National Association for Medicaid Program Integrity (NAMPI) conference next month.
Lastly, while it is not often that our Health Policy News blog posts or newsletter note the people behind the policy insights, we wanted to ensure we let our readers know that one of our most frequent contributors over the years, Thomas Entrikin, has retired. After 30 years with Public Consulting Group, Tom has set off to travel the world. His contributions to HPN—clear, concise and historical insights into the recent large changes proposed to Medicaid care delivery (and payment in particular)—will be greatly missed. Before proceeding into our October edition content, we take this opportunity to thank Tom for his insights and guidance over the years, and to encourage you to reference his past articles.
Innovative Approaches to Accountable Care
Our new report and accompanying ACO Tracking Tool were developed for state policy leaders in both the commercial and public insurance spheres who are looking for insights into the program design approaches and implementation of accountable care programs in other states. The report includes brief narratives on a few specific states with robust ACO programs and innovative approaches to care delivery. The Health Policy News team will host a webinar and discussion of this report and Tracking Tool on November 14th at 2pm EST. We hope you will join us and bring questions for our team of delivery system and Medicaid transformation experts! The instructions for joining the webinar are as follows:
Access this Skype webinar via your computer or phone. The link to join the Skype meeting from your computer is here.
You can also call into the webinar at +1 (866) 619-5581 (US toll-free), +1 (512) 879-3792 (US toll), or at any of the local numbers listed here. Once you’ve dialed in, use the access code 700662161# to join the meeting.
To read the full report, and utilize the ACO Tracking Tool, please click here.
Home and Community Based Services Conference Recap: Topics, Trends, and Takeaways
In August, PCG attended and presented at a successful and informative National Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Conference in Baltimore, MD. This annual event is a unique opportunity for federal, state, and local policymakers to meet up with the people who administer, manage, and deliver HCBS programs across the country. To read more about key themes of this year’s conference, including critical incident management, electronic visit verification, the HCBS Settings Final Rule, and rate setting and value-based payment models, click here.