State Makes Major Adjustment to Medicaid Transformation Demonstration Project Plan
Late Friday, October 27, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) notified the nine Accountable Communities of Health (ACH) that it has revised the scoring framework of the Medicaid Transformation Demonstration Project Plan. The change will allow the ACHs an opportunity to earn their full valuation if they chose four projects, instead of six. Originally, ACHs that chose four projects could only score up to 90 percent on their Project Plans. This was originally intended to encourage ACHs to take on more than four projects.
The HCA said that it made the change after meetings with the leadership of the ACHs, following an announcement by the HCA that it had miscalculated the total funds available for the projects. “We are expected to do more with less money,” said Elevate Health Chief Executive Officer Alisha Fehrenbacher. “This adjustment will help us target the funds to ensure successful outcomes for our regional community.”
The Medicaid Transformation Demonstration is a collaborative, performance-based method of funding health system transformation. ACHs contract with the HCA to develop specific, transformation projects over a five-year period. Up to $1.5 billion will be distributed over the five-year period to ACHs to fund the projects.
Given the fast-approaching deadlines for project submission, the Elevate Health (PCACH) Board of Trustees held a vote at their regularly scheduled October meeting the following business day. They unanimously chose four projects:
- Bi-directional Integration of Care
- Community-based Care Coordination
- Opioid Crisis
- Chronic Disease