NC Department of Health and Human Services

ICYMI: Governor, DHHS Secretary Confer With Wilmington Health

By Jenny Callison, WilmingtonBiz

Gov. Pat McCrory came to Wilmington Wednesday to learn the prescription for improving effectiveness and efficiency of health care services.

McCrory and N.C. Department of Health and Human Services secretary Aldana Wos spent the afternoon touring Wilmington Health headquarters. It is one stop on a statewide tour of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to see how they have reduced costs while improving service delivery and outcomes for Medicare patients. McCrory and DHHS officials hope that a similar approach could be applied to Medicaid patients. The state is looking for ways to reduce the cost of its Medicaid services.

Wilmington Health, through developing its own ACO model, has made great progress in all three areas: cost, quality and patient satisfaction, notably with state employees and state retiree patients as well as Medicare patients, said Wilmington Health CEO Jeff James. Comprehensive data mining software has allowed the organization to track its performance – including the performance of each of its 147 physicians- and has posted the data in hallways for staff and patients to see. The data and conclusions are also shared with physicians in an effort to become as transparent as possible, he said.

NC Leaders In Agreement On Overhauling Medicaid Payment Model

by Michael Tomsic, WFAE 90.7
JUNE 20, 2014

North Carolina is poised to overhaul how it pays for doctor’s visits and other physical health services under Medicaid. Governor Pat McCrory, state House and Senate leaders agree on that front, although they still need to work out differences in their broader plans for Medicaid.

Under the current Medicaid system, doctors and other providers get paid after they treat patients.

In the new model, the payment would shift to the front end. The state would put some organizations or businesses in charge of managing the program. They’d get all the money up front, and they’d be on the hook if they go over budget.

medicaid reform

On the Record: Medicaid and why it matters

by DAVID CRABTREE, WRAL
JUNE 21, 2014

David Crabtree is on the record with Dr. Robin Cummings, deputy director of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Medicaid, why it should matter to everyone and whether North Carolina is at risk of losing the program.

Watch Video

medicaid reform

ICYMI: Editorial: McCrory right to push Medicaid overhaul

By Editorial, The Rocky Mount Telegram

June 9, 2014

Flanked by about 30 doctors in white coats, McCrory beseeched lawmakers to accept the administration’s plan that was developed by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The budget plan recently passed by the N.C. Senate essentially throws out the governor’s Medicaid reform proposal and seeks to cut costs by reducing eligibility, mostly to the elderly, blind and disabled.

The governor’s plan would establish “accountable care organizations” in which doctors and hospital networks would share in Medicaid savings and cost overruns. Such a model is expected to generate savings of about 3 percent of the Medicaid budget when fully implemented, administration officials estimate.

medicaid reform

Secretary Wos Meets with Dr. Paul Grundy to Discuss Medicaid Reform

After participating Wednesday in an event supporting Gov. Pat McCrory’s proposed budget and plan for Medicaid Reform, Dr. Paul Grundy, M.D., an advocate for patient-centered care, met with DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos, M.D., to voice his support for DHHS efforts to reform the state’s Medicaid program.

Grundy is Director of Healthcare, Technology and Strategic Initiatives for IBM Global Wellbeing Services and Health Benefits, and President of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative. He met Thursday with Secretary Wos and members of the Medicaid Reform team including Deputy Secretary for Health Services Robin Cummings, M.D., and Mardy Peal, Senior Advisor to the Secretary.

Grundy quickly made several points in support of the DHHS efforts to reform Medicaid through Accountable Care Organizations.

“If you’re going to have a healthy workforce, they have to be part of a healthy community,” he said. “An inefficient healthcare system is a tax on business.”

He questioned a budget plan passed Friday night by the N.C. Senate that would abandon the DHHS efforts and move Medicaid to a separate agency and convert the program to contracted managed care.

“Why would you throw out a model that business is now buying?” he asked.

medicaid reform