In partnership with Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS)–Arizona's single state Medicaid system, and the Center for Health Care Strategies
Adaptation Health facilitated the Medicaid Innovation Challenge on March 29, 2019 in Phoenix. We offered an exclusive opportunity for collaboration between entrepreneurs and the State Medicaid Office along with the seven Medicaid Managed Care Organizations in Arizona. The final event discussed the value innovators can bring to Arizona Medicaid. You can learn more about our method, insights and results in the white paper.
The Medicaid Innovation Challenge focused on connecting market-ready solutions for Social Determinants of Health and Digital Member Engagement with Managed Care leaders. These two focus areas are based on needs defined with representatives of the Arizona MCO’s in collaboration with AHCCCS and Adaptation Health in December 2018. After a rigorous selection process by the MCOs, we announced the selected companies chosen to present in Phoenix.
Please stay tuned to Adaptation Health on this website for news on upcoming Medicaid Innovation Challenges that provide the opportunity to connect and present innovative business models to State Medicaid Directors, Managed Care Organizations, and plan leadership addressing the needs of Medicaid and vulnerable populations. You can view all the presentations below.
To learn more, or if you have any questions, please feel free to connect.
A Letter from AHCCCS Director, Jami Snyder
"...by integrating these new approaches and interventions into our healthcare ecosystem, we will be able to improve health outcomes and maximize efficiency in a manner that supports the ongoing sustainability of our program."
One of the biggest opportunities that Medicaid Directors have today relates to exploring the natural alignment of performance incentives in their state programs, in terms of efforts which seek to influence both quality and cost. For good reason, when it comes to solutions which target important initiatives related to social determinants of health and/or improving access to care through better member engagement, the solutions that are most appealing are those which seek to meet the needs of the individual, while realizing cost savings to the program.
The Arizona Medicaid Innovation Challenge provided us with a dedicated forum to convene leadership across health plans, the private sector, and the state agency for a rich, daylong discussion about how tech firms can demonstrate value in regard to both quality and cost in a complex Medicaid managed care environment. We’ve come to think about this value proposition at three levels:
-
Communication: Enhance communication between member and provider
-
Coordination: Enhance coordination and data sharing between provider and plan
-
Understanding: Enhance understanding between plans and the state program
What was interesting about this event was that the tech firms which participated introduced different approaches to address one or more of these three critical objectives. Having Adaptation Health deliver a curated set of presentations and frame the discussion allowed us the opportunity to compare approaches and even explore collaboration opportunities across one or more solutions. Together, at a state and system level, our goal is to ensure we’re using these solutions to move the needle on health outcomes for the bulk of the Medicaid population.
We’re at a unique crossroad in the history of the Medicaid program. We’re reaching national consensus in recognizing the value of health-related social supports in impacting outcomes. But in order to realize those outcomes and make them tangible for a Medicaid program, we need better data and better tools that will help us attend to each of those three areas: communication, coordination, and understanding.
This is what the Arizona Medicaid Innovation challenge has already begun to help us achieve. We believe that, by integrating these new approaches and interventions into our healthcare ecosystem, we will be able to improve health outcomes and maximize efficiency in a manner that supports the ongoing sustainability of our program.
- Jami Snyder, Medicaid Director
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System