-
System Change and Service Providers: Opportunities and Challenges in Addressing Unmet Needs
In 2011, a priority of New York’s Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was Medicaid redesign, with the substantive presence of behavioral health services in both the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) and the subsequent Delivery System Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP). The focus was to reduce inpatient...
-
Turn and Face the Change: Children’s Medicaid Redesign
Change is inevitable. Change has and will always be a part of life, but it seems that the last couple of decades have brought about an unprecedented rate and scale of change in our society. Technology, of course, can be identified as a driving factor and has radically transformed every aspect of...
-
Substance Use Disorder Measures and Preparing for Value-Based Purchasing
In a previous column, I wrote about the measures for value-based purchasing being developed together with the New York State Department of Health and the Center on Addictions, our partner on many projects. Our work to develop clear measures has set the foundation for insurance plans, providers and...
-
Two New York Behavioral Health IPAs Merge
Coordinated Behavioral Health Services (CBHS) and Comprehensive Care Network of the Hudson Valley (CCN), two Independent Practice Associations (IPAs) serving individuals in the lower Hudson River valley, are merging. Both organizations are recipients of state Value Based Payment (VBP) Readiness...
-
Are We There Yet? Reflections on the 5 Years of Children’s Medicaid Transformation
It is hard to believe that five years have passed since the New York State Children’s MRT Subcommittee released its blueprint to address the unique and complex needs of children in Medicaid Managed Care. In many ways the time has flown by yet today, New York State’s target date to fully...
-
The NYSPA Report: DSRIP Made Easy
New York State’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program is a five-year plan to disburse a total of $8 billion in federal funding in order to comprehensively transform the way that Medicaid services are provided and paid for, with the aim of reducing avoidable hospitalizations by...
-
Insurance Models to Achieve the Triple Aim
Most people think that the reason for bringing behavioral health services under managed care—a “carve-in”—is to save money. They’re partially right. Carving in services has resulted in savings for the Medicaid program and for States in many instances. In a carve-in, behavioral health...
-
Does Medicaid Redesign Pay Enough Attention to Older Adults with Behavioral Health Needs?
Major changes to the behavioral health system in New York State are underway at the same time that there is rapid growth of the population of older adults. Will the transformation of the behavioral health system benefit older adults? It could, but it is not at all clear that it will because there...
-
The NYSPA Report: New Medicaid Restrictions on the Prescription of Benzodiazepines
Late last year, the New York State Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Board (DURB) recommended new protocols in connection with the prescribing of benzodiazepines under the Medicaid program. Benzodiazepines, a controlled substance, are a class of psychotropic medication used to reduce symptoms of...
-
Perspective on Recent Developments in New York State Behavioral Health Reform
Since the last issue of Behavioral Health News, as summarized by the excellent update above written by Dr. Jorge Petit and Jenna McCready, the State has moved forward to aggressively implement managed behavioral health. This article presents a perspective on some of the developments. RFQ for...
