KHI News Service
TOPEKA, Jan. 25
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today that Kansas was among 27 states awarded Medicaid “transformation” grants in the first round of funding.
A total of $103 million was awarded. The Kansas Health Policy Authority received $906,664 to improve preventive care services for disabled Kansans served by the Medicaid program.
The money will fund a two-year pilot program that will provide case managers at selected Community Developmental Disability Organizations and Community Mental Health Centers with a computerized system and training to help them more efficiently deliver preventive services, according to the health policy authority.
“By providing case managers the tool to use Medicaid claims data to ensure that screenings and preventive care opportunities are not missed, overall health outcomes should improve resulting in savings to the Kansas Medicaid program,” said Andrew Allison, deputy director of the health policy authority and the acting director of the Medicaid program.
In part, the grants are intended to support and expand the use of electronic health records to improve care and reduce medical errors.
“These transformation grants express the core goal of this administration to give states the kind of flexibility they need to deliver high quality care in an efficient and economical way,” HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said in a news release.
Congress approved $150 million for Medicaid “transformation” grants in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Another $47 million will be awarded to states later this year.
Kansas spends approximately $2.2 billion a year on Medicaid. Fewer than 20 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries are disabled, but they account for approximately 45 percent of the program”s cost.