Trillium updates commissioners on Medicaid transition, local services; panel urges youth prevention

Trillium Health Resources told the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners on April 21 that a statewide Medicaid transition and the launch of "tailored plans" have increased spending and call volume but that the local network is expanding crisis and prevention services.

The update, given by Cecilia Pierce, southern regional vice president with Trillium, covered membership and spending changes since February's consolidation, local programs supported by county contributions and a timeline for remaining Medicaid transformations. Pierce said Trillium now covers roughly 46 counties and that the organization's half-year expenditures after tailored-plan launch were about $802 million, with an expected annual budget near $2 billion. "We had around 80,000 members who were eligible, for those services," Pierce said, adding Trillium served roughly 3,200 people in Brunswick County from July through December in the tailored-plan…