GREAT MEETING with HHSC Commissioner

Event 04 SUMMARY:  Tuesday, September 20, 2011,

        HHSC Commissioner, Tom Suehs

Thanks to State Rep. Armando Martinez, Dist. 39 efforts, the Valley health care community got to spend some time with Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Executive Officer, Mr. Tom Suehs

and his support staff.  The meeting was very informative and maintained an open question and answer dialogue through out the entire 90 minutes.  News Media were present also.

Over 100 attendees focused issues as follows:

      Patient/client enrollment process; cutoff dates

o      Contracting timelines with local health providers

o      Managed Care Organization (MCOs) accountability and

Responsibility and transparency

o      Service area Medicaid population size and health provider pool

o      Reimbursement fees and payment cycles

o      MCO readiness criteria

o      Bilingual materials and client needs assessments

o      MCO pre and post utilization benchmarks

o      Ensuring that client rights are not violated

o      Explanation of STAR and STAR+Plus program

o      Complaint and appeals process

o      Future training sessions

Most of the questions were answered and some were taken back for further review.    It will take many meetings like this one to inform the general public of changes coming over the next few months. 

Implementation is set for March 2012.

The biggest issue for a successful start is that it will take maximum coordination and cooperation between the State agencies, the MCOs, the health providers, in order to ensure a smooth transition of health services to Medicaid population.

Clic here for  Meeting Pictures

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