Louisiana's Medicaid Managed Care Quality Strategy

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Louisiana's Medicaid Managed Care Quality Strategy Louisiana’s Medicaid Managed Care Quality Strategy Prepared by: The Bureau of Health Services Financing Louisiana Medicaid March 2019 Louisiana Medicaid Managed Care Quality Strategy Table of Contents 1. Introduction – Managed Care Goals, Objectives and Overview ............................................ 1 1.1 History of Managed Care in Louisiana ............................................................... 1 1.2 Quality Management Structure .......................................................................... 4 1.3 Quality Strategy Aims, Goals, and Objectives ..................................................... 2 2. DRIVING IMPROVEMENT AND MONITORING PROGRESS ......................................... 5 2.1 Goals and Objectives for Continuous Quality Improvement ................................ 5 2.2 MCO Performance Measures ............................................................................. 5 2.3 Performance Measures and Performance Improvement Projects (PIPs) .............. 5 2.4 Other Medicaid Quality Interventions ................................................................ 7 2.5 Annual External Independent Reviews ............................................................... 8 2.6 Procedures for Identifying, Evaluating, and Reducing Health Disparities .......... 10 2.7 Use of Sanctions .............................................................................................. 11 3. State Standards for Access and Clinical Policies and Guidelines ......................................... 14 3.1 Provider Network Adequacy Standards and Availability of Services ................. 14 3.2 Adoption & Dissemination of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines ........ 25 3.3 Transition of Care Policy ................................................................................. 25 3.4 Mechanisms Used to Identify Persons with Special Health Care Needs (SHCN) . 26 3.5 Non-Duplication Strategy ................................................................................ 27 4. EVALUATING, UPDATING, AND DISSEMINATING THE QUALITY STRATEGY ....... 28 4.1 Quality Strategy Development and Public Comment ......................................... 28 4.2 Quality Strategy Review, Update, and Evaluation ............................................. 28 5. APPENDIX A: Louisiana Medicaid MCO Performance Measures (2020 HEDIS Reporting Year /2019 Measurement Year) ......................................................................................... 30 i i Louisiana Medicaid Managed Care Quality Strategy 1 Introduction – Managed Care Goals, Objectives and Overview 1.1 History of Managed Care in Louisiana Louisiana’s Medicaid managed care program is responsible for providing high-quality, innovative, and cost-effective health care to Medicaid enrollees. Guided by the Triple Aim, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) partners with enrollees, providers, and health plans to continue building a Medicaid managed care delivery system that improves the health of populations (better health), enhances the experience of care for individuals (better care) and effectively manages costs of care (lower costs). More specifically, the Department’s Medicaid managed care objectives include: advancing evidence-based practices, high-value care and service excellence; supporting innovation and a culture of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in Louisiana; ensuring enrollees ready access to care, including through innovative means such as medical homes and telehealth; improving enrollee health; decreasing fragmentation and increasing integration across providers and care settings, particularly for enrollees with behavioral health needs; using a population health approach, supported by health information technology, to advance health equity and address social determinants of health; reducing complexity and administrative burden for providers and enrollees; aligning financial incentives and building shared capacity to improve health care quality through data and collaboration; and, minimizing wasteful spending, unnecessary utilization, and fraud. Today, Louisiana Medicaid serves nearly 1.7 million Louisianans, approximately 35 percent of the state’s population. Five (5) statewide Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), one (1) Behavioral Health Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan (PIHP) and one (1) Dental Prepaid Ambulatory Health Plan (PAHP) pay for healthcare services for more than 90 percent of the Louisiana Medicaid population, including more than 481,000 new adults since Medicaid expansion took effect in July 2016. These managed care entities (MCEs) pay for Medicaid benefits and services included in the Louisiana Medicaid state Plan, state statutes and administrative rules, Medicaid policy and procedure manuals. In addition, these MCEs also provide specified value-added Medicaid benefits and services. On February 1, 2012, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) transitioned nearly 900,000 Medicaid enrollees from the state’s 45-year-old fee-for-service (FFS) program to a Medicaid managed care model. Rollout occurred in phases based upon designated geographic service areas, with the statewide rollout completed on June 1, 2012. In transitioning from fee-for-service to a Medicaid managed care model, Louisiana sought to: Improve access to care Improve care coordination Increase emphasis on disease prevention and the early diagnosis and management of chronic conditions 1 1 Louisiana Medicaid Managed Care Quality Strategy Improve health outcomes and quality of care Provide for a more financially stable Medicaid program In 2014, LDH issued a request for proposal (RFP) for its second-generation, full-risk Medicaid managed care contracts, with a start date of February 1, 2015. The RFP provided for an initial three-year contract term and the option to extend the contracts up to 24 months. Subsequently, the Louisiana Legislature approved a 23-month extension to these contracts, from February 1, 2018 through the contract expiration date of December 31, 2019. In December 2015, LDH integrated specialized behavioral health services into the managed care program in an effort to improve care coordination for enrollees and facilitate provision of whole-person health care. Louisiana also continues to administer the Coordinated System of Care (CSoC), a single behavioral health PIHP to help children with behavioral health challenges that are at risk for out of home placement. Wraparound support and other services are provided to assist children with staying in or returning to their home. In 2019, LDH has initiated procurement for its third-generation, full-risk Medicaid managed care contracts, with an operational start date of January 1, 2020. 1.2 Quality Strategy Aims, Goals, and Objectives This Quality Strategy establishes clear aims, goals, and objectives to drive improvements in care delivery and health outcomes as well as metrics by which progress will be measured. It articulates priority interventions, and details the standards and mechanisms for holding MCEs accountable for desired outcomes. The Quality Strategy is a roadmap by which LDH will use the managed care infrastructure to facilitate improvement in health and health care through programmatic interventions. Guided by the Triple Aim and the broad aims of the National Quality Strategy – Better Care, Healthy People, Healthy Communities, and Affordable Care – Louisiana’s Quality Strategy framework defines and drives the overall vision for advancing health outcomes and quality of care provided to Louisiana Medicaid enrollees. Described in Table 1, these broad aims link to Louisiana specific goals and objectives, intended to highlight key areas of quality focus for the Louisiana Medicaid managed care program. Table 1: Louisiana Quality Strategy Aims, Goals, and Objectives Aims Goals Objectives Better Care. Make Ensure access to care to Ensure timely and approximate access to primary health care more meet enrollee needs and specialty care person-centered, coordinated, and Improve coordination Ensure appropriate follow-up after emergency accessible so it occurs and transitions of care department visits and hospitalizations through at the “Right care, right effective care coordination and case management time, right place.” Facilitate patient- Engage and partner with enrollees to improve centered, whole-person enrollee experience and outcomes care Integrate behavioral and physical health 2 Louisiana Medicaid Managed Care Quality Strategy Aims Goals Objectives Healthier People, Promote wellness and Ensure maternal safety and appropriate care during Healthier prevention childbirth and postpartum Communities. Improve Prevent prematurity and reduce infant mortality the health of Promote healthy development and wellness in Louisianans through children and adolescents better prevention and treatment and proven Promote oral health in children interventions that Improve immunization rates address physical, Prevent obesity and address physical activity and behavioral, and social nutrition in children and adults needs. Prevent prematurity and reduce infant mortality Improve cancer screening Improve HIV and Hepatitis C virus infection screening Promote healthy development and wellness in children and adolescents Promote use of evidence-based tobacco cessation treatments Improve hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease management and control Improve chronic Improve respiratory disease management and disease management control and control Improve HIV control Improve quality of mental
Recommended publications
  • Value-Driven Health Care Purchasing: Four States That Are Ahead of the Curve
    VALUE-DRIVEN HEALTH CARE PURCHASING: FOUR STATES THAT ARE AHEAD OF THE CURVE OVERVIEW Sharon Silow-Carroll and Tanya Alteras Health Management Associates August 2007 ABSTRACT: Health care purchasers, suppliers, and consumers are rallying for better-quality health care. In response, several states are pursuing value-based purchasing (VBP) initiatives that emphasize collection of quality-of-care data, transparency of quality and cost information, and incentives. In this overview of public–private VBP efforts in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin, the authors find that tiered premiums, pay-for-performance measures, and the designation of high-performance providers as “centers of excellence” are paying off. Minnesota, for example, has used incentives to achieve about $20 million in savings in 2006. Similarly, Wisconsin’s Department of Employee Trust Funds has announced premium rate increases in the single digits for the third straight year. More research is necessary to determine the true impact of VBP, but health plans and providers are paying attention to and learning from these current efforts. (Note: Accompanying the overview report are four separate state case studies, available at http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=515778.) Support for this research was provided by The Commonwealth Fund. The views presented here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Commonwealth Fund or its directors, officers, or staff. This report and other Fund publications are available online at www.commonwealthfund.org. To learn more about new publications when they become available, visit the Fund’s Web site and register to receive e-mail alerts. Commonwealth Fund pub.
    [Show full text]
  • Quality Health Care
    . Quality Health Care • Centers of Excellence • Improving Quality Quality Health Care Quality • Pay for Performance • Literature Centers of Excellence The term “Center of Excellence” has been widely used and in many different ways. The basic concept behind health care centers of excellence is that a provider who specializes in a particular type of program or service can produce better outcomes. One example of a center of excellence program is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) cancer center program that was created in 1971 to establish regional centers of excellence in cancer research and patient care. The NCI cancer center designation is an official designation. Providers must meet certain criteria and demonstrate excellence in research, cancer prevention and clinical services. NCI designation helps institutions compete for both research dollars and patients. The term “Center of Excellence” has also been used by many without official designation. Some providers of care simply proclaim themselves centers of excellence. This is especially true for specialty hospitals that have been proliferated in many parts of the country. While these facilities may specialize in a particular service, there may not be clinical evidence demonstrating that the care they provide is superior. Similarly, insurers may include "Centers of Excellence" in their networks, but the extent to which these facilities have met established performance benchmarks is not always clear. While some insurers go to great length to identify the highest quality providers for certain services, others may establish a "Center of Excellence" primarily to concentrate volume to achieve more favorable payment rates. Much of the literature on Centers of Excellence has focuses on the relationship between volume and outcomes.
    [Show full text]
  • 2018 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
    NATIONAL HEALTHCARE QUALITY & DISPARITIES REPORT 2018 2015 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report and National Quality Stategy 5th Anniversary Update c This document is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted without permission. Citation of the source is appreciated. Suggested citation: 2018 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; September 2019. AHRQ Pub. No. 19-0070-EF. 2018 NATIONAL HEALTHCARE QUALITY AND DISPARITIES REPORT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857 www.ahrq.gov AHRQ Publication No. 19-0070-EF September 2019 www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/index.html ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (QDR) is the product of collaboration among agencies from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), other federal departments, and the private sector. Many individuals guided and contributed to this effort. Without their magnanimous support, the report would not have been possible. Specifically, we thank: Primary AHRQ Staff: Gopal Khanna, Francis Chesley, Virginia Mackay-Smith, Jeff Brady, Erin Grace, Karen Chaves, Nancy Wilson, Darryl Gray, Barbara Barton, Doreen Bonnett, and Irim Azam. HHS Interagency Workgroup (IWG) for the QDR: Susan Jenkins (ACL), Irim Azam (AHRQ), Barbara Barton (AHRQ), Doreen Bonnett (AHRQ), Karen Chaves (AHRQ), Fran Chevarley (AHRQ), Camille Fabiyi (AHRQ), Darryl Gray (AHRQ), Kevin
    [Show full text]
  • Telehealth After COVID-19: Clarifying Policy Goals for a Way Forward
    January 2021 Perspective EXPERT INSIGHTS ON A TIMELY POLICY ISSUE LORI USCHER-PINES, MONIQUE MARTINEAU Telehealth After COVID-19 Clarifying Policy Goals for a Way Forward n March 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic shut- tered communities and disrupted the health care delivery system. But clini- Icians quickly dusted off their webcams and leveraged telehealth to continue care—and keep their practices afloat—while still meeting social distancing guidelines. Temporary, dramatic policy waivers (see box) broadened access to and payment for telehealth on an unprecedented scale. These policy changes led to skyrocketing telehealth use in spring 2020. At the time, there was a lot of talk about how tele- health’s time had finally arrived, and how genies were not returning to their bottles. But that might be the wrong metaphor for telehealth use in 2020. The surge in tele- health use had ebbed somewhat by the summer months (Mehrotra et al., 2020), and it is too soon to tell whether the initial enthusiasm for virtual visits was borne of desperation (Uscher-Pines, 2020) or whether some of the newfound appreciation for telehealth can persist under the right policy conditions. C O R P O R A T I O N Federal Telehealth Restrictions Temporarily Changed During the Public Health Emergency and Responsible Agency or Legislation Medicare • Expand the types of providers that can furnish and are eligible to bill Medicare for telehealth services (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security [CARES] Act) • Allow providers eligible to bill
    [Show full text]
  • How the Government As a Payer Shapes the Health Care Marketplace by Tevi D
    2014 How the Government as a Payer Shapes the Health Care Marketplace By Tevi D. Troy 2014 2014 American Health Policy Institute (AHPI) is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) think tank, established to examine the impact of health policy on large employers, and to explore and propose policies that will help bolster the ability of large employers to provide quality, affordable health care to employees and their dependents. The Affordable Care Act has catalyzed a national debate about the future of health care in the United States, and the Institute serves to provide thought leadership grounded in the practical experience of America’s largest employers. To learn more, visit ghgvghgghghhg americanhealthpolicy.org. Contents Executive Summary................................................................................. 1 Shaping Business Models ......................................................................... 2 Insurance Premiums ............................................................................... 6 Availability of Innovative Products ....................................................... 7 Quality Measures ..................................................................................... 8 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 9 Endnotes ................................................................................................. 10 Executive Summary The federal government is the largest single payer of health care in the United States1, accounting for
    [Show full text]
  • DHCS Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care
    DHCS Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care Jennifer Kent, Director Release Date: March 2018 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Three Linked Goals and Seven Priorities ................................................................ 2 Sustaining a Culture of Quality .............................................................................. 3 Advancing Quality Improvement ............................................................................ 3 Table 1 ..................................................................................................................... 4 Priority 1: Improve Patient Safety ........................................................................... 4 Priority 2: Deliver Effective, Efficient, Affordable Care ........................................... 6 Priority 3: Engage Persons and Families in Their Health ..................................... 13 Priority 4: Enhance Communication and Coordination of Care ............................ 14 Priority 5: Advance Prevention ............................................................................. 15 Priority 6: Foster Healthy Communities ................................................................ 19 Priority 7: Eliminate Health Disparities ................................................................. 21 Looking to the Future—Programs and Policies in Development .................... 23 Improve Patient Safety ........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Improving the Quality of Health Care in the United Kingdom and the United States: a Framework for Change
    Improving the Quality of Health Care in the United Kingdom and the United States: A Framework for Change EWAN B. FERLIE and STEPHEN M. SHORTELL University of London; University of California, Berkeley ealth systems throughout the world are searching for more cost-effective ways of delivering care. While Hthe focus in the past has been on constraining the growth in cost of care, new emphasis is being given to improving the quality and outcomes of care. This is in large part due to advances in health services research, which has demonstrated wide variation in both process and out- comes of care even in the most technologically advanced countries such as the United States (Wennberg 1996; Chassin, Galvin, and National Roundtable 1998; Schuster, McGlynn, and Brook 1998; Kohn, Corri- gan, and Donaldson 1999) and the United Kingdom (National Health Service 1999). Another mobilizing factor has been the high-profile in- cidence of gross medical errors in both the United Kingdom (Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry Team 2000; see Dingwall and Fenn 2000) and the United States (Moore 1997). A recent survey of physicians in each country revealed that 45 percent of U.K. generalists and 49 percent of U.K. specialists believe that the quality of care provided has deteriorated over the past five years, and the figures for U.S. generalists and special- ists are 56 percent and 60 percent, respectively (Commonwealth Fund 2000). The result has been a number of initiatives in both countries to improve the quality and outcomes of care. The Milbank Quarterly, Vol. 79, No. 2, 2001 c 2001 Milbank Memorial Fund.
    [Show full text]
  • Room for Improvement: Patients Report on the Quality of Their Health Care
    ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: PATIENTS REPORT ON THE QUALITY OF THEIR HEALTH CARE Karen Davis, Stephen C. Schoenbaum, Karen Scott Collins, Katie Tenney, Dora L. Hughes, and Anne-Marie J. Audet April 2002 Copies of this report are available from The Commonwealth Fund by calling our toll-free publications line at 1-888-777-2744 and ordering publication number 534. The report can also be found on the Fund’s website at www.cmwf.org. CONTENTS Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 Patients’ Assessment of Quality of Care............................................................................2 Medical Errors .................................................................................................................3 Communication and Continuity ......................................................................................4 Preventive Care and Management of Chronic Conditions ...............................................8 A 2020 Vision for American Health Care....................................................................... 10 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... 14 Survey Methodology ..................................................................................................... 14 LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1 Americans in Fair or Poor Health Were Less Likely to Be Satisfied with Quality of Care.................................................................................2
    [Show full text]
  • Evidence-Based Medication Safety Quality Improvement Programs And
    Policy Brief #33 May 2013 Evidence-Based Medication Safety Quality Improvement Programs and Strategies for Critical Access Hospitals Jill Klingner, RN, PhD; Shailendra Prasad, MBBS, MPH University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center Purpose of the Project This report examines evidence-based medication safety Quality Improvement (QI) programs and strategies that could be implemented in Critical Access Key Findings Hospitals (CAHs). • Sixteen of eighteen states surveyed have implemented projects which Background address medication safety in Hospital QI programs to improve medication safety management focus on Critical Access Hospitals, and identifying medication safety risks and prevention of medication errors. Many 30% of the 616 CAHs in those patient safety and medication safety initiatives were originally motivated by the states have participated (or are seminal Institute of Medicine report To Err is Human (Kohn 1999). participating) in those projects. Over the past decade, medication safety has gained emphasis as a major health • All states that had implemented issue via numerous high-profile safety events (Kilbridge 2002). It is estimated medication safety projects reported that adverse drug events (ADE) occur in 6.5% to more than 20% of hospitalized that the projects were successful in improving medication safety. patients (Bates 1995, Classen 1991, Rozich 2003). Although many of these are avoidable, there is disagreement among researchers regarding which types of • The evidence indicates that issues have the greatest impact on medication safety as well as the degree to Critical Access Hospitals can which those issues are preventable (Classen 2003). improve medication safety via five strategies: Medication safety is an important focus area in the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP).
    [Show full text]
  • Expanding Research and Evaluation Designs to Improve the Science Base for Health Care and Public Health Quality Improvement Symposium
    Expanding Research and Evaluation Designs to Improve the Science Base for Health Care and Public Health Quality Improvement Symposium Meeting Summary September 13–15, 2005 Wyndham City Center Hotel Washington, DC Prepared by Barbara DeVinney for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under a subcontract to Contract No. 290-01-0001 with Cygnus Corporation, Inc. Contents Executive Summary ___________________________________________________________ 3 Summary of the Presentations ___________________________________________________ 7 Description of the meeting format _____________________________________________ 7 Expanding Research and Evaluation Designs for Quality Improvement Interventions_____ 7 An Integrated Model for Improvement: Implications for Study Design________________ 9 Meeting Purposes and Process Revisited_______________________________________ 15 Session I. Case Studies: QII at the Clinical Microsystem level ______________________ 16 QII to Increase Delivery of Clinical Preventive Services in Office-Based Primary Care __ 16 QII to Increase Timely Delivery of Surfactant to High-Risk Newborns During Hospital Labor and Delivery________________________________________________________ 25 Session II. Research Evaluation Designs for QII at the Health “Plan” Level ____________ 30 Case: Expanding and Testing VA Collaborative Care Models for Depression _________ 30 Session III. QII at the Multiple Clinical Systems Level: Improving Chronic Illness Care Evaluation ________________________________________________________________
    [Show full text]
  • AHRQ Quality Indicators Fact Sheet
    AHRQ Quality Indicators Toolkit Fact Sheet on Inpatient Quality Indicators What are the Inpatient Quality Indicators? The Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs) include 28 provider-level indicators established by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) that can be used with hospital inpatient discharge data to provide a perspective on quality. They are grouped into the following four sets: • Volume indicators are proxy, or indirect, measures of quality based on counts of admissions during which certain intensive, high-technology, or highly complex procedures were performed. They are based on evidence suggesting that hospitals performing more of these procedures may have better outcomes. • Mortality indicators for inpatient procedures include procedures for which mortality has been shown to vary across institutions and for which there is evidence that high mortality may be associated with poorer quality of care. • Mortality indicators for inpatient conditions include conditions for which mortality has been shown to vary substantially across institutions and for which evidence suggests that high mortality may be associated with deficiencies in the quality of care. • Utilization indicators examine procedures whose use varies significantly across hospitals and for which questions have been raised about overuse, underuse, or misuse. Mortality for Selected Procedures and Mortality for Selected Conditions are composite measures that AHRQ established in 2008. Each composite is estimated as a weighted average, across a set of IQIs, of the ratio of a hospital’s observed rate (OR) to its expected rate (ER), based on a reference population: OR/ER. The IQI-specific ratios are adjusted for reliability before they are averaged, to minimize the influence of ratios that are high or low at a specific hospital by chance.
    [Show full text]
  • Evidence-Based Medicine”: Rationing Care, Hurting Patients
    Jeffersonian Principles in Action December 2008 “EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE”: RATIONING CARE, HURTING PATIENTS by Twila Brase, R.N., P.H.N. Introduction This paper will explain the debate surrounding EBM, question the emphasis on evidence and Evidence is said to be the new bright star of guidelines for medical decisionmaking, demonstrate health care. A growing chorus of voices is calling for how EBM harms the doctor-patient relationship and physicians and other health care clinicians to follow why EBM won’t guard against frivolous lawsuits, “evidence-based medicine” (EBM) or so-called and describe various iterations of evidence-based “best practices.” To practice EBM, proponents say medicine being enacted and implemented today—in doctors must follow evidence-based clinical practice particular, Medicaid Preferred Drug Lists. guidelines. A word about terminology: this report uses At fi rst glance, this concept seems to make sense. “guidelines,” “best practices,” “practice parameters,” Any term with the word “evidence” automatically and “protocols” interchangeably. confers a sense of scientifi c authority. Assuming that to be true, the United States Congress and some state legislatures have begun adding “evidence-based” The Evidence-Based Medicine Debate requirements to health care laws. Several laws even Best Practices? link physician payment for medical services to Evidence-based medicine has been defi ned as compliance with EBM in an initiative called “pay for “the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of performance.” current best evidence in making decisions about the 2 Of concern to patients and doctors, the terms care of individual patients.” EBM advocates say “evidence-based medicine” and “evidence-based best evidence should be derived from the fi ndings of randomized controlled trials (RCTs)3—the so-called guidelines” are often not defi ned in these laws, 4 access to individualized care is not preserved, and “gold standard” in research—and meta-analysis, a the integrity of medical decisionmaking has not been systematic review of research studies.
    [Show full text]