Tag Archives: Integrated Care

Caring for High-Need, High-Cost Patients—An Urgent Priority

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http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/in-brief/2016/jul/caring-high-need-high-cost-patients-urgent-priority?omnicid=EALERT1072635&mid=henrykotula@yahoo.com

Meaningful improvement in the health system will require improvement in care for those patients using it the most: people with multiple chronic conditions. Within this clinically diverse group are patients who remain stable for years with appropriate treatment, others who live with extreme functional limitations, and still others with persistent behavioral health challenges or related social needs, like housing or food, that exacerbate their conditions. Care for these high-need, high-cost patients is expensive: despite comprising just 5 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 50 percent of the nation’s annual health care spending.

C-suite feels ripple effect from Medicaid expansion, study says

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http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/c-suite-feels-ripple-effect-medicaid-expansion-study-says

Arkansas is one of the four Medicaid expansion states who participated in the study.

Arkansas is one of the four Medicaid expansion states who participated in the study.

Medicaid expansion is making a difference as to whether hospitals are investing in clinics, new equipment and hiring new staff, or looking at the status quo and layoffs, according to a recent report by Georgetown University Health Policy Institute.

Hospitals in Medicaid expansion states have realized a drop in uncompensated care; an increase in institutional financial security; new community efforts to integrate and improve care; and innovative programs to expand access to specialists, according to the study.

CEOs who head hospitals in both expansion and non-expansion states said they saw a drop in uninsured rates in expansion states that was not as dramatic in non-expansion states.

This has translated to a decline in uninsured patient stays by close to 40 percent. Non expansion states reported a decline of 2.9 percent.

Medicaid Expansion: Driving Innovation In Behavioral Health Integration

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http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2016/07/05/medicaid-expansion-driving-innovation-in-behavioral-health-integration/

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Safety-net providers in states that have accepted the federal funding available for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are experiencing a positive ripple effect, where increased insurance coverage rates among patients and thus greater financial security for safety-net institutions are translating into better care. We found that safety-net providers in states that expand Medicaid are delivering more services and better-coordinated care than what is available in states rejecting the expansion.

Of particular interest is the effect of Medicaid expansion on attempts to integrate behavioral health services with primary health care — long a thorny issue for safety-net providers. Research has shown that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has increased access to behavioral health services. We present case studies from two provider systems that illustrate some of the innovative approaches that are improving the quality of behavioral health care at safety-net institutions.