Note from Director Anthony Rodgers                   

IBM, Jet Blue, and AHCCCS?  You may not regularly associate the three, however AHCCCS is now side by side with those global brands as an employer with alternative work arrangements.  At AHCCCS it's called Virtual Office.

AHCCCS piloted and launched Virtual Office throughout the past year and a half.  Virtual Office allows staff who perform certain functions, such as eligibility determination and claims processing, to work full-time from their home.  A recent evaluation of the program found employees are satisfied with the program and AHCCCS is accomplishing its goals for this program.  Primarily, we believe Virtual Office can contain costs, improve productivity, and improve employee retention and satisfaction while continuing to meet the needs of our community.  Some of the Virtual Office outcomes so far include:

• Improved productivity
• Reduced absenteeism
• Reduced facility costs
• Reduced turnover
• Reduced fuel consumption and pollution
• Greater opportunity for homebound Arizonans
• Greater opportunity for rural residents

AHCCCS will continue to practice and improve Virtual Office as long as it produces positive outcomes for agency staff, the state, and the environment.  If you have questions regarding Virtual Office, contact Human Resources and Development at 602.417.4678. If you are interested in working for AHCCCS, apply on line at www.azstatejobs.gov.

Anthony D. Rodgers
AHCCCS Director

AHCCCS sponsored a member survey in 2006 to find out how our members rate their health plan and medical care.  The results are compared to data from other State Medicaid programs.

A complete list of key survey findings are available online, such as:

• Overall survey results show that AHCCCS members give high ratings to their doctors, their health plan and their overall health care.
• Over 90% of all people surveyed indicate that they would recommend their doctor, nurse and their health plan to a family member or friend.
• 91% of those surveyed would recommend their child's dentist.
• Customer service ratings of AHCCCS health plans compare favorably to national Medicaid averages.
• AHCCCS members had fewer delays getting health plan approval for care
• On average, appointments for an illness/injury/condition are available within 3.6 days for adults and 1.5 days for children.
• AHCCCS members, especially child members were less satisfied with areas of provider communication. These areas include the amount of time providers spend with members, how well the providers made their explanations understandable and the attention and respect given by providers to members.
• Most  parents/guardians (81%) indicate that their child's doctor  usually included them in the decision-making regarding their child's health care

The survey results and health plan ratings will soon be distributed to members and applicants to help them make their health plan choice.

A total of 3,113 adult members and 3,749 child members responded to this survey. WB&A Market Research, an independent survey research firm, was hired to conduct this survey in order to ensure members' privacy.

The full survey results are available online at http://www.azahcccs.gov/Studies/ExecutiveSummary_121106.pdf.

Success of the AHCCCS health care system is largely dependent on the cooperation of a network of providers contracted with AHCCCS managed health care plans.

AHCCCS recently contracted with the Center for Health Information & Research at Arizona State University to survey AHCCCS providers, including physicians, specialists, office managers, and dental providers.  The purpose of the survey was to determine how AHCCCS providers think about the AHCCCS program and the individual health plans.

Survey results will be used by individual health plans to guide quality improvement activities and by AHCCCS to support monitoring and contracting process.

View the complete Provider Survey results online. 

Myth: Cutting AHCCCS' budget is not a big deal.

Truth:  AHCCCS funds are critical to Arizona's healthcare economy.  For example, 20% of all hospital inpatient charges are for patients covered by AHCCCS. When Medicaid does not cover the cost of delivering care, those expenses are shifted to the private sector where they are a hidden tax on all who pay for private insurance.  A high uninsured population results in lower revenue to and increased instability for healthcare providers.  Inadequate Medicaid payment also makes it difficult for hospitals to attract and retain quality healthcare professionals who are in high demand across the nation.  From a purely economic perspective, Arizona gets much value for each and every State dollar invested.   

(Source: Arizona Hospital Association, 2004).

In March, AHCCCS sponsored an important event titled, "A Progress Report on the Arizona Health-e Connection Roadmap" in Phoenix.  The event featured Governor Janet Napolitano and several national experts on Health Information Exchange.  If you missed the event, you now have the opportunity to view the presentations, and access materials distributed at the day long conference.

Online  Now Available

For over twenty years, Healthcare Group of Arizona (HCG), together with our health plans, has been providing small businesses with quality healthcare coverage. Today, HCG is proud to serve over 9,000 businesses and over 26,500 members.

HCG is a mission-driven organization with the goal of providing reasonably-priced and quality healthcare coverage to small business owners. During recent months, there have been discussions about HCG at the legislature regarding recent financial challenges. Many HCG members would have no other healthcare coverage options without HCG. Finding affordable private health insurance in Arizona is a well- documented problem for many small businesses. 

HCG is unique for the following reasons: (1) HCG is guaranteed issue, meaning that healthcare coverage is offered regardless of medical risk, and (2) HCG offers the only community-rated healthcare coverage premiums in Arizona, which, to many small businesses, makes HCG premiums more affordable than commercial insurance. 

These same unique factors also create financial challenges for HCG. In the past, HCG premiums were subsidized by the State. That assistance ended June 30, 2005, at which time the program transitioned from being subsidized to being self funded. Unfortunately, because of various legislatively-mandated restrictions on HCG, like the six-month bare period, restrictions on commissions to brokers, and restrictions on HCG health plans utilizing AHCCCS hospital rates for out-of-network hospitalization, HCG continues to face challenges. 

In addition, the administration requested $8 million to help stabilize the financial risk of the health plans. They also requested the legislature reinstate the authority of the HCG health plans to default to AHCCCS hospital rates for hospitals that don't have an existing HCG contract. Many issues will be discussed as the legislature discusses the measures related to Healthcare Group.

HCG continues to receive broad support from HCG members and the Arizona small business community.

A Doctoral student and three graduate students from Arizona Universities will intern at AHCCCS this summer. 

The goal of the AHCCCS internship program is to offer opportunities that enrich the Master's level student experience by exposing them to a fast paced health care environment.  Students will undertake meaningful projects under the supervision of executives and senior agency staff.  AHCCCS will provide students the chance to expand their knowledge and understanding of the health care industry and related public policy issues, while receiving real-world experience.

The students were selected after a competitive application and interview process.  The following is a list of the students, their associated university and a brief description of their project.

Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the U of A

• Nick Meza, pursuing a Masters of Public Health. Will work with the Division of Health Care Management to assist in the development of monthly reporting metrics for contractor performance and support research into best practices in Medicaid Managed care.
   
• Kirsten Yaffe, pursuing a PhD, will focus on updating the southern Arizona health service profile to help monitor community health status, and extend a small business health insurance survey into Cochise County.

AHCCCS will accept internship applications for the 2008 program at the beginning of next year. beginning of next year. beginning of next year.

AHCCCS offers interest-free loans for Graduate Medical Education

The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) is pleased to announce that a limited amount of funding is available offering interest-free loans to hospitals.

Loans of $200,000 to $500,000 may be offered to qualifying hospitals for the establishment or support of Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs in Arizona. Approximately $1 million is available.

The hospital loan program is designed to fund start-up and ongoing costs for Graduate Medical Education programs in accredited hospitals with priority given to rural hospitals. AHCCCS was granted this funding with the passing of Arizona Revised Statute § 36-2921.

Questions about this program may be directed to Victoria Burns at (602) 417-4049, or Victoria.Burns@azahcccs.gov.

CRS wants your feedback

In preparation for the upcoming procurement for Children's Rehabilitative Services (CRS) contracts, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is seeking input from a variety of stakeholders, which will be used to identify potential opportunities for improvement in the program. In addition to a series of small focus groups with AHCCCS administration and health plan medical directors, CRS families, and providers, the following public meetings will be held to accommodate any interested parties.

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About AHCCCS Today

AHCCCS Today is an e-newsletter published by AHCCCS Community Relations to inform the Arizona community about AHCCCS programs, partnerships, policy changes, and other data related to the AHCCCS mission: Reaching across Arizona to provide comprehensive, quality health care to those in need.  AHCCCS is Arizona's Medicaid program.  AHCCCS provides health care coverage to more than 1 million Arizonans.

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