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Health News
Medicaid managed-care forums for health-care providers to be held around Kentucky in next six weeks
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services has scheduled a new round of forums for health-care providers in each of the eight Medicaid regions during August and September.
The forums will be attended by senior officials from CHFS, including cabinet Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes, Medicaid Commissioner Lawrence Kissner, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Stephanie Mayfield and Behavioral Health Commissioner Mary Begley, among others.
?Our first series of forums for health providers were so successful in opening the lines of communication and making connections that allow us to work better together,? Haynes said in a press release. ?We decided to not only repeat but expand the scope of the forums this year, bringing new topics to the forefront like behavioral health, which is particularly timely due to improved access allowed by the Affordable Care Act. Once again, we will also allow time for private meetings with the managed-care organizations,? or MCOs.
Medical providers will be able to meet with MCO representatives, the Department of Insurance and the cabinet to discuss concerns about proper billing, appeals processes and any specific regional issues, in addition to a general conversation about how to improve the overall system of health care delivery in Kentucky. Sessions will also discuss behavioral-health opportunities, improving overall health and community workforce capacity, among other topics, according to the release.
The sessions will begin at 9 a.m. and concluding at 5 p.m., with an optional second day of workshops running from 9 a.m. to noon. The dates and locations are:
· Aug. 5-6: Adron Doran University Center, Morehead State University
· Aug. 11-12: Frankfort Convention Center
· Aug. 20-21: Hazard Community College
· Aug. 25-26: James E. Bruce Convention Center, Hopkinsville
· Aug. 27-28: Owensboro Convention Center
· Sept. 3-4: Northern Ky. University METS Center, Erlanger
· Sept. 10-11: University of Louisville Shelby Campus
· Sept. 15-16: Center for Rural Development, Somerset
Providers who would like to register or get additional information should visit the Department for Medicaid Services website.
The forums will be attended by senior officials from CHFS, including cabinet Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes, Medicaid Commissioner Lawrence Kissner, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Stephanie Mayfield and Behavioral Health Commissioner Mary Begley, among others.
?Our first series of forums for health providers were so successful in opening the lines of communication and making connections that allow us to work better together,? Haynes said in a press release. ?We decided to not only repeat but expand the scope of the forums this year, bringing new topics to the forefront like behavioral health, which is particularly timely due to improved access allowed by the Affordable Care Act. Once again, we will also allow time for private meetings with the managed-care organizations,? or MCOs.
Medical providers will be able to meet with MCO representatives, the Department of Insurance and the cabinet to discuss concerns about proper billing, appeals processes and any specific regional issues, in addition to a general conversation about how to improve the overall system of health care delivery in Kentucky. Sessions will also discuss behavioral-health opportunities, improving overall health and community workforce capacity, among other topics, according to the release.
The sessions will begin at 9 a.m. and concluding at 5 p.m., with an optional second day of workshops running from 9 a.m. to noon. The dates and locations are:
· Aug. 5-6: Adron Doran University Center, Morehead State University
· Aug. 11-12: Frankfort Convention Center
· Aug. 20-21: Hazard Community College
· Aug. 25-26: James E. Bruce Convention Center, Hopkinsville
· Aug. 27-28: Owensboro Convention Center
· Sept. 3-4: Northern Ky. University METS Center, Erlanger
· Sept. 10-11: University of Louisville Shelby Campus
· Sept. 15-16: Center for Rural Development, Somerset
Providers who would like to register or get additional information should visit the Department for Medicaid Services website.
- Kentucky Re-bidding Medicaid Managed Care Contracts To Address Complaints Of Patients, Advocates And Health-care Providers
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News State officials are re-bidding Medicaid managed-care contracts that cover more than 1.1 million Kentuckians. The news came as a delight and surprise to many health-care providers and patient advocates. ?I was both...
- State Officials Tell Health-care Providers To Meet With Managed-care Companies To Get Paid, Say New System Is Improving Health
By Molly Burchett and Al Cross Kentucky Health News At the latest in a series of forums on Medicaid managed care, state officials said the new system has improved the quality of care, but you could cut the tension with a scalpel in the packed auditorium...
- Beshear Vetoes Prompt-pay Bill But Takes Several Steps To Address Problems In Medicaid; He And Haynes Say It's Working
Gov. Steve Beshear has vetoed the bill designed to make Medicaid managed-care firms pay health-care providers more quickly, but is taking administrative steps to address the issue. Beshear said he agreed with the intent of House Bill 5 but it might have...
- Forums Set To Explain State Insurance Exchange And Its New Opportunities For Coverage, Little Known To Most Who Will Be Eligible
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News Now that Gov. Steve Beshear has issued the order to create a state health insurance exchange, the state is scheduling public forums to explain it. Rachel Klein, the executive director of Enroll America, said...
- Cabinet Must 'wield The Stick' To Get Managed Care Under Control, State Auditor Says
Though the state has a solid contract "filled with all the mechanisms you need for enforcement, from the carrots to the sticks," the Cabinet for Health and Family Services has to be more aggressive in cracking down on the managed care organizations (MCOs)...