For Immediate Release
Cheyenne, Wyoming
September 23, 2008
Wyoming EqualityCare (Medicaid) “Pay-For-Participation” Program Enjoys Continued Success
72 Participating Clinics and 1,200 Plus Patient Referrals to Healthy Together! Health Management Program Since Last Year
A total of 72 clinics are participating and more than 1,200 referrals to the Healthy Together! Health Management program have been made as a result of the Pay-for-Participation offering of the Wyoming Department of Health EqualityCare (Medicaid) Program. The program, launched in 2007, continues to expand its efforts to encourage providers to offer preventive screenings and services to their Medicaid clients, particularly those who have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease or asthma. The program also places a strong focus on all EqualityCare clients practicing healthy lifestyles and on preventing illness before it occurs.
"I am very pleased with the Healthy Together! program. My patients’ parents really appreciate the support from the health coaches. It has certainly been helpful for parents to have a nurse health coach to talk with that is knowledgeable about medical information," explains Dr. Diane Edwards, a developmental pediatric specialist in Casper. "The nurse health coaches can review the recommendations from the medical, educational and other allied health providers and help the parents decide where to start and how to prioritize the multiple suggestions."
"I referred one of my patients that had multiple chronic illnesses. She has improved her health status by losing weight, she stopped smoking, and as a result has improved her blood pressure," says Dr. Ronald Malm of the University of Wyoming Family Practice. "My patients get added support from working with their health coach. The added revenue of the P4P program is just a bonus."
The Healthy Together! program offers providers technical assistance with coding, conducting group visits, patient education material and provider education sessions on clinical guidelines. The Pay-for-Participation program - key component of Wyoming’s cutting edge approach to linking services and providing customized, preventive healthcare to clients - is the first step in an ambitious effort to give patients, families, and the entire provider team access to a broad range of data on the patient’s health condition via a web-based Total Health Record (THR). The THR will act as a data registry which would enable tracking of labs, screenings and other valuable outcomes.
About APS
APS Healthcare is a leading provider of specialty healthcare solutions that serve more than 20 million members in the Unites States and Puerto Rico. The company currently serves clients representing more than 40 percent of the nation’s Medicaid population, partnering with agencies in more than 20 states. APS delivers customized, integrated healthcare solutions that help people engage in behaviors that optimize their health status. APS operates under the belief that uniting all participants in the healthcare landscape – individuals, practitioners and payers – improves overall health and reduces total healthcare spending.
For more information, contact:
Andrea Minoff
914-288-4791
aminoff@apshealthcare.com
or
Michelle Crist
307-433-0970
mcrist@apshealthcare.com
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