Program's Goal: Improve Care: The Central Plains Regional Health Care Foundation Gets a Contract to Manage Care for Some Medicaid Patients.
Posted on: Friday, 24 February 2006, 09:00 CST
By Andi Atwater, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.
Feb. 24--A Wichita-based nonprofit group has won a five-year contract to manage the medical care of certain Medicaid recipients in Sedgwick County.
The pilot program, called Enhanced Care Management of Sedgwick County, will be administered by the Central Plains Regional Health Care Foundation under contract with the Kansas Health Policy Authority.
Health Policy Authority executive director Robert Day, along with Central Plains officials, plan to announce the $2 million program at a news conference today at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.
The program is the first of its kind in Kansas to target certain low-income Medicaid recipients. Officials estimate as many as 550 people in Sedgwick County could benefit. About 140 people have been referred so far.
The pilot program not only will save the state money, but will improve the health of the Medicaid beneficiaries who qualify, officials said.
"The (idea) is to get people to the right doctors and the right specialists to get the right tests and the right treatments so people aren't going to the emergency room in the middle of the night," said dermatologist Christopher Moeller, president of the Central Plains board.
Central Plains is a nonprofit subsidiary of the Medical Society of Sedgwick County. It also manages Project Access, a community-based program that provides medical services to uninsured, low-income residents.
The success of Project Access prompted the state to seek out Central Plains for the new program, Moeller said.
"The state of Kansas, with all the financial constraints and problems dealing with health care, knew with managed care you could really help improve health outcomes," he said. "They saw us as a model... they came to us."
Anne Nelson, chief operations officer for Central Plains, said the pilot program will target a specific subset of Medicaid beneficiaries in the state's HealthConnect program.
These people tend to have numerous health problems and could greatly benefit from Enhanced Care's services, including medication coordination, transportation to medical appointments and follow-up care, she said.
"We hope to... help them navigate the health care system, provide education so patients can better manage their health conditions and remove the social barriers that might be impeding their health conditions in some way," Nelson said.
"We're hoping to help the patient develop personal empowerment."
Reach Andi Atwater at (316) 268-6642 or aatwater@wichitaeagle.com [mailto:aatwater@wichitaeagle.com].
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.
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Source: The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.)
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