Robin Callahan

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Health Care Reform Implementation January 22,
2010
Robin Callahan Director of Member Policy
Program Development, Office of Medicaid
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Health Care Reform Implementation

• Countless moving parts
• Strong centralized coordination needed to track
  progress and share information
• Secretary of Health and Human Services convened
  weekly cross agency meetings
• HCR project leaders from each agency reported
  progress and challenges

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Leveraging Existing Medicaid Infrastructure

• One front door for subsidized health programs
  (MassHealth, Commonwealth Care, and the
  Health Safety Net)
• Medicaid program has the staffing and systems
  required to determine income eligibility
• Adding Commonwealth Care rules to the existing
  eligibility system ensures maximum benefits for
  applicants and notice of eligibility for all
  family members

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Virtual Gateway The programs

• These programs can be applied for online using
  the Virtual Gateway
• MassHealth, including
• Children's Medical Security Plan
• Healthy Start
• Health Safety Net
• Commonwealth Care
• Child Care
• Food Stamps
• Women Infants Children (WIC)
• Womens Health Network
• Department of Mental Retardation services
• Mass. Rehabilitation Commission services
• Elder services
• Mass. Commission for the Blind Services
• Mass. Commission for the Deaf / Hard of Hearing
  services
• Veterans Services Holyoke / Chelsea
  Soldiers Homes

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Virtual Gateway Award 2008
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Massachusetts Health Care Training Forum

• Massachusetts Health Care Training Forum (MTF) -
  Program Goal
• MTF communicates accurate, timely information
  about operations and policies of Massachusetts
  State Health Care Programs to community health
  and human service partners.

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Massachusetts Health Care Training Forum

• North (Tewksbury)

• Central (Shrewsbury)

• Boston

• West (Holyoke)

• Southeast
• (Taunton)

20 Meetings Annually in 5 locations Total
Attendance annually 2,000 - Email Updates
- Website - Outreach (Formal and Informal)
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Massachusetts Health Care Training Forum

• Formal presentations about issues related to
• Eligibility/Enrollment
• Case Management
• Billing/Claims
• Advocacy
• Information directly enhances attendees ability
  to assist current and potentially eligible
  individuals
• Roundtable sessions with state experts, trainers
  and advocates
• Network opportunity for state and community
  organizations to build collaborative relationship

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EOHHS Enrollment, Outreach Access to Care
Grants Grant Recipients51 Community Based
Organizations