The next 2 years will be a time of transition for how vaccines are delivered and paid for in the US- as national policy shifts to the new order under the Affordable Care Act. In the short-term there'll be some transition challenges- but in the long run- it should be easier to keep up our vaccination rates. In [...]
AHCCCS will host public meetings across the state to provide additional information regarding the future of Arizona’s Medicaid program. Here's the Public Meeting Schedule and more information.
More good news… starting last week- more uninsured women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer will be eligible to receive comprehensive treatment through Arizona’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program (which is administered by AHCCCS). In the past, only women diagnosed through Well Woman HealthCheck were able to access treatment through the Program. The American Cancer [...]
Now that the Supreme Court has spoken regarding the Affordable Care Act- States have a lot more clarity around the decisions they'll need to make and what they need to do to implement the law. The Governor kicked off a process to review the options and engage Stakeholders for their input this week. Additional meetings are being scheduled in the coming [...]
Kathy McCanna, Alan Oppenheim, and Connie Belden (from Licensing) and Kristy Benton (from Behavioral Health) recently jumped head-first into a new Arizona health-care initiative called No Place Like Home which is Arizona’s approach to the Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs project. The project aims to prevent hospital-acquired conditions and hospital re-admissions. The name [...]
We recently held a series of focus groups and interviews to obtain input from persons with Serious Mental Illnesses (peers) and their family members regarding the integration of physical healthcare and behavioral healthcare services in partnership with St. Luke’s Health Initiative and AHCCCS, and several behavioral health peer-run organizations and peer and family members. The [...]
Our Assisted Living Licensing shop received a complaint about physical and verbal abuse of vulnerable adults in an assisted living facility in Casa Grande a couple of weeks ago. Surveyors Matthew Deise and Doris Laidlaw responded to the facility and interviewed several residents and caregivers at the home, who confirmed that some employees treat the residents [...]
There's a well-known quote attributed to Abe Lincoln that goes something like this: "Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first 4 sharpening the axe." Maybe somebody will someday quote me as saying: "Give us 20 months to transform the delivery of behavioral health and primary care services to address the [...]
Do you know someone who’s pregnant and needs help finding low-cost prenatal care? Someone looking for post-partum depression resources; help with breastfeeding; low-cost dental care; or the nearest WIC clinic? One great resource that can help is our Pregnancy & Breastfeeding Hotline. The Hotline (1-800-833-4642) is a statewide service funded by our Title V Maternal and [...]
By now you know all about our goal of improving integration of care for individuals with a serious mental illness. In looking more closely at this population, we noticed that about 50% of folks with a serious mental illness who are enrolled with Medicaid (AHCCCS) are also enrolled in Medicare… meaning that they’re “dual eligible.” [...]
