Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Shared Services Healthcare topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County advances shared-services plan, revises MCO contract language to enable Medicaid reimbursement for jail and juvenile services
Summary
County staff told commissioners that revised contract language with Community Health Plan will allow medical, behavioral-health and case-management services provided in county jail and juvenile facilities to be reimbursed by Medicaid and the MCO, and staff asked commissioners to authorize a formal project team to implement the shared-services model.
County staff described progress toward a shared-services model that would allow the county to bill managed-care organizations and Medicaid for medical, behavioral-health and case-management services provided in jail and juvenile facilities.
Cindy (first name only) and Jay, a civil prosecutor, worked with the Community Health Plan contract team to expand contract language, Cindy said, so the county can provide and be reimbursed for "medical, behavioral health and case management" services in multiple locations. "We also added case management, which is a new reimbursable service that we can provide through Medicaid," Cindy said.
The nut graf: Staff said the revised contract with Community Health Plan will act as a template for the other four managed-care organizations (MCOs) the county must contract with. The change is intended to make services provided in-custody and at multiple sites eligible for reimbursement under Medicaid and the plans that Community Health Plan administers.
Commissioners and staff discussed next steps beyond contract language: implementing an electronic health-record system (Epic), establishing compatible IT and camera systems across sites, and forming a formal project team to shepherd implementation. Staff urged a formal steering group that includes juvenile services, the sheriff's office, IT, facilities and commissioners. One commissioner said monthly work-session updates would be appropriate; staff suggested the task force should meet more frequently.
Staff also described a case-management approach to support reentry: embedding case managers who can coordinate care while people are in custody and provide warm handoffs at release to reduce recidivism. "So while they're in our facility, we're getting things ready for when they leave... we do warm hand up to a case manager," a county representative said, describing MOUs with community providers to maintain continuity.
Funding status: staff reported the sheriff's office has received some Medicaid-related payments and additional payments were expected in late spring for juvenile services. Commissioners asked for a formal charter or resolution to establish the project team; staff said they would prepare a proposal and increase reporting frequency.
No formal board vote on the template contract or a task-force charter was recorded in the transcript; staff said the Community Health Plan contract had been reviewed by legal and that the sheriff was "comfortable with this contract." Commissioners asked staff to present monthly updates and to return with a formal project-team charter.
