« The Dual Agenda: June 10, 2015 Issue

State Highlights

Illinois

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services posted the latest enrollment numbers for the Medicare Medicaid Alignment Initiative (MMAI). As of May 2015, enrollment totaled 55,672 beneficiaries.

Massachusetts

MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, released the latest One Care enrollment report. As of May 1, the total number of enrollees is 17,637. The total number of opt-outs is 27,396.

In other news, at the recent One Care Implementation Council meeting, the following key updates were shared:

• Findings from the latest survey by the Early Indicators Project(EIP) on One Care members’ experiences; some key findings are:
  • Member satisfaction with plans and services is fairly high
  • Members who met with their PCP, Care Coordinator and/or LTS Coordinator expressed high levels of satisfaction with these Care Team members
  • Findings suggest that members’ needs for medical services are more consistently assessed and addressed compared to LTSS needs
  • Findings show that many members are unsure whether they had an individual care plan and suggest the need for greater attention to person-centered and member-driven care planning

• Updatesfrom MassHealth, including:
  • Process for selecting new Implementation Council members
  • New quarterly reports to share assessment completion and Long Term Supports Coordinator (LTS-C) referral information for One Care enrollees; MassHealth released reports for the three most recent quarters for which data is available, April-June 2014, July-September 2014, and October-December 2014.

Michigan

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is hosting two regional forums on the MI Health Link demonstration, one in Detroit, Wayne County and the other in Clinton Township, Macomb County.  

Ohio

A few weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio, Voices for Better Health presented its first onsite training to consumer advisory committee members. The training was skillfully facilitated by Margo Michaels from Health Care Access and Action Consulting and John Arnold from the Ohio Consumer Voices for Integrated Care (OCVIC). And, by the accounts of participants, it was highly successful.

Eight members of Aetna’s MyCare Ohio Member Advisory Committee (MAC) for the Central Region, ranging in age from 52 to 89, participated in the all-day training. Diverse representation, which is a vital component of any consumer advisory committee, existed across genders, race/ethnicities, disability and primary language spoken. To accommodate two Russian-speaking members, the written materials were translated and an interpreter was on hand to facilitate the participation of these members. The curriculum was designed to give committee members the skills and knowledge they need to become effective advisors to Aetna, which has over 7,000 members in the Columbus area. Key features of the training included activities about how to engage in meaningful ways on an advisory committee, what skills are needed to be effective, what ground rules (like being respectful and staying focused) should MAC members follow, how to develop a successful meeting agenda and how to create and monitor the feedback loop with Aetna’s leadership. The training also reviewed helpful information about the dual eligible demonstration itself, how it’s different from traditional Medicare and Medicaid, and the anticipated benefits of more coordinated, integrated care. During one exercise, members expressed their hopes and fears before joining the MAC, which included the following: “I hope to give consumers a voice;” “I hope the MAC makes a positive difference to help others;” I fear it won’t make a difference;” and “I fear our needs won’t be addressed.”

Throughout the day, a rich dialogue was generated between MAC members and a sense of mutual support, trust and teamwork followed, which will be critical to the success of the MAC. Special thanks to these MAC members and to Aetna for partnering with VBH on our first onsite training!

For more information about VBH’s Consumer Training program, please contact William Dean at wdean@communitycatalyst.org or 617-275-2827.