Strengthening Medicaid with Health Information Technology: Are Providers & States Up to the Challenge?

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, providers can receive Medicare and Medicaid payment incentives when they adopt electronic health records and demonstrate their “meaningful use.” Additionally, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires states to establish a website by 2014 for Medicaid beneficiaries to electronically enroll and renew coverage. Yet many challenges remain so that health information technology (HIT) can help the Medicaid program operate more effectively.

How are states preparing to integrate their HIT systems with insurance exchanges by 2014? What role are state Medicaid agencies playing in developing systems to meet future needs? How are states planning to provide oversight of incentive payments to combat fraud, waste, and abuse? How can Medicaid health plans and providers use HIT to provide better care delivery and improve health outcomes, while also reducing costs? What have those involved in HIT initiatives such as the Beacon Communities learned about how best to deploy HIT resources? Do the standards set to reward the “meaningful use” of HIT strike the right balance between encouraging progress and achievability?

To address these questions and more, the Alliance for Health Reform and the Centene Corporation sponsored an August 1 briefing. The briefing discussed HIT’s impact on both care delivery and the administrative side of the Medicaid program. Panelists were: Craig Brammer, Office of the National Coordinator for HIT in the Department of Health and Human Services; Don Imholz, Centene Corporation; David Mix, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services; and Judy Featherstone, HealthPoint Community Health Center in Seattle. Ed Howard of the Alliance moderated.

Transcript

Full Transcript (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

Speaker Presentations

David Mix Presentation (PowerPoint)
Judy Featherstone Presentation (PowerPoint)
Don Imholz Presentation (PowerPoint)

Event Details

Speaker Biographies (Adobe Acrobat PDF)