Georgia’s Medicaid program has received a double dose of good financial news, according to two separate announcements Monday.
First, technology giant HP said in a news release that federal officials have recently certified Georgia’s Medicaid information system. The accreditation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ensures that Georgia will receive maximum federal funding for the system’s implementation and operations.
Extra funding is available retroactively, to the HP system’s first day of operation in November 2010. Georgia is expected to get an additional $15 million under that scenario, plus an increased amount from the federal certification date onward.
Since its launch, the Medicaid information system has processed more than 80 million claims worth about $6.5 billion from Georgia’s health care providers.
The Medicaid program is jointly financed by the federal government and the states.
HP originally announced a seven-year, $391 million contract with the state when it received the award in 2008. The California-based company serves as the fiscal agent or principal IT provider for Medicaid in 21 states.
Also Monday, state Attorney General Sam Olens announced that Georgia has joined with other states and the federal government to reach an agreement with Abbott Laboratories to settle civil and criminal allegations that the company illegally marketed the anti-seizure drug Depakote. full story
A task force working with state officials on restructuring Medicaid has given rise to a new group — one that’s specifically concerned with mental health and substance abuse issues.
Members of the new group say it offers them an unusual opportunity to help shape requirements for what is likely to be a huge state health care contract.
“It seems like an opportunity to take a public health approach [to] substance abuse and mental health,’’ says Neil Kaltenecker, executive director of Georgia Council on Substance Abuse. She’s a member of the new panel.
The state is contemplating a whole new structure for Medicaid and PeachCare. The Department of Community Health is working on a ‘‘redesign’’ of how the two government insurance programs are run. The process has drawn intense interest from stakeholders, policymakers and health insurance companies expected to bid on contracts. full story
For a person accustomed to grim health data, one prediction still tends to be jarring:
The current generation of American children may be the first not to live as long as their parents.
Much of this projection is linked to the increase in health conditions such as obesity.
These medical deficits in the U.S. health system were highlighted Thursday at an Atlanta conference and in national media reports.
Tyler Norris, a senior adviser on Total Health at Kaiser Permanente, cited the life expectancy warning as he spoke to an Atlanta audience about the burden of obesity and diabetes.
Kaiser is one of the sponsors of the upcoming HBO documentary “The Weight of the Nation,’’ in which experts such as the CDC director, Dr. Thomas Frieden, talk about the urgency of addressing the obesity problem. (Here’s a link to the trailer.) full story
Five Georgia community health centers will receive a total of $11 million in grants to expand and improve their services, the federal government announced Tuesday.
The Georgia money is part of $728 million nationally that will go to hundreds of community health centers across the country, under the 2010 health reform law.
A Stone Mountain health center highlighted in a recent Kaiser Health News article for scoring poorly on six care measures will get the largest amount awarded in Georgia. Oakhurst Medical Centers will receive $5 million to construct a larger facility.
Jeffrey Taylor, Oakhurst’s CEO, said the building will be in a more visible location, on Memorial Drive. “People now drive by our [current] facility and head to Grady’s emergency room,’’ Taylor told GHN. “They don’t know we’re there.’’
The new Oakhurst building will serve more people and provide more wellness activities, he said. Taylor said he believes it will help improve the center’s care. Many of the health center’s patients are refugees who have not had regular medical care, including children who have not received vaccinations.
The second-highest grant in Georgia is $4.9 million to the Neighborhood Improvement Project for a new building in south Augusta. full story
Grady Health System said Tuesday that it is consolidating its outpatient mental health programs to help meet growing service needs in metro Atlanta.
Grady is combining three outpatient behavioral health offices into a larger location at 10 Park Place, near MARTA’s Five Points Station hub.
The move will improve access to services and will provide space to assist more patients, Grady said in a news release.
The 125 behavioral health staff members working in the three outpatient centers will be relocated to the new location.
“The demand for mental health assistance is growing dramatically, and our goal is to make our services as accessible as possible to residents of metropolitan Atlanta,” said Michael Claeys, executive director of Behavioral Health Services at Grady. “This move to larger, more centrally located, dedicated space will expand our capacity so that we can accommodate the demand.”
One of the three outpatient clinics is the Auburn Avenue Recovery Center. Georgia Health News reported in December that the Auburn Avenue clinic had problems with an often malfunctioning system for air conditioning and heating. full story
