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New York Health Equity Reform: A Transformative Shift in New York’s Medicaid Landscape
On January 9, 2024, New York’s Department of Health received its long-awaited amendment to our Medicaid 1115 demonstration, newly rebranded NYHER (NY Health Equity Reform). It’s not as flashy nor as generously funded as the special purpose DSRIP (Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment)...
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New Medicaid Option Promotes Enhanced Mental Health, Substance Use Crisis Care
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is working with states to promote access to Medicaid services for people with mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) crises. Authorized under President Biden’s American...
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CEO to CEO: Navigating the 2021 Medicare and Medicaid Services Changes
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) policies present an ever shifting landmine of standards and benchmarks that must be understood and adapted to year after year. While these changes are important in eventually achieving better budget-neutrality in healthcare, they do create additional...
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Creating a Family Peer Support and Services Workforce
For the caregiver of a Medicaid-eligible child who has a behavioral diagnosis, or demonstrated loss of a physical health diagnosis, Children & Family Support & Services (CFTSS) provide unprecedented support, advocacy and resources. On July 1, 2019, the fourth CFTSS component, Family Peer...
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Telephonic Care Management Program for Patients with Medicare
In this important issue on care for the elderly in Behavioral Health News, we hope to highlight the success of our telephonic care management service to the aging population at The Institute for Family Health’s (IFH) network of community health centers in New York City and upstate New York....
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Medicaid Redesign Will Help Children and Families Get the Right Services at the Right Time
New York State embarked on a large-scale effort in 2011 to restructure the State’s Medicaid program based on recommendations from the Governor-appointed Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT). The MRT was comprised of a wide variety of stakeholders, including State agencies, providers, advocates, consumers...
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Turn and Face the Change: Children’s Medicaid Redesign
Change is inevitable. Change has and will always be a part of life, but it seems that the last couple of decades have brought about an unprecedented rate and scale of change in our society. Technology, of course, can be identified as a driving factor and has radically transformed every aspect of...
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Are We There Yet? Reflections on the 5 Years of Children’s Medicaid Transformation
It is hard to believe that five years have passed since the New York State Children’s MRT Subcommittee released its blueprint to address the unique and complex needs of children in Medicaid Managed Care. In many ways the time has flown by yet today, New York State’s target date to fully...
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The NYSPA Report: DSRIP Made Easy
New York State’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program is a five-year plan to disburse a total of $8 billion in federal funding in order to comprehensively transform the way that Medicaid services are provided and paid for, with the aim of reducing avoidable hospitalizations by...
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Insurance Models to Achieve the Triple Aim
Most people think that the reason for bringing behavioral health services under managed care—a “carve-in”—is to save money. They’re partially right. Carving in services has resulted in savings for the Medicaid program and for States in many instances. In a carve-in, behavioral health...
