Media Contacts:
Jeannie Mandelker
Harrison Edwards PR/901-907-0448
jeannie@harrison-edwardspr.com
                        -or-
Ted Herman
Hudson Health Plan/914-372-2204
therman@hudsonhealthplan.org

 

HUDSON HEALTH PLAN IS SELECTED AS A FINALIST
FOR NATIONAL MEDICAID HEALTH PLAN INNOVATION AWARD


National Spotlight on Hudson’s Programs Raises a Red Flag
for Across-the-Board Medicaid Cuts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2011

(Tarrytown, NY)…New York State is struggling to contain Medicaid costs, but Hudson Health Plan is proof that innovative programs can control costs and improve care. In fact, Hudson has been so successful at devising initiatives to control costs that the not-for-profit health plan was named one of three finalists for a Health Plan Innovation Award given by the Medicaid Managed Care Congress.

“Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results,” says Georganne Chapin, President & CEO of Hudson. “Unlike many other health plans, Hudson is driven to identify the problems and develop new solutions that work for everyone – patients, providers, and payers.”

Hudson has introduced innovative programs since it began 25 years ago. The Medicaid Managed Care Congress selected Hudson as a finalist based on three specific initiatives:

  • Westchester Cares Action Program (WCAP) manages the care of Medicaid’s most expensive patients in Westchester County. Hudson broke new ground to develop a model of integrated care that rolls up three types of case management – medical, behavioral, and social – into one coordinated program. WCAP has improved the health and lives of more than 250 people while significantly reducing the cost of their care.
  • Hudson’s distinctive pay-for-performance (P4P) bonus is more effective than conventional P4P programs in promoting quality care, according to research published in the December, 2010 issue of Health Services Research Journal. While most P4P bonuses are based on a practice’s overall rate of fully immunized patients. Hudson’s “piece rate” approach rewards doctors for each fully immunized two-year-old child covered by the Plan. Researchers found that from 2003 to 2007, Hudson’s immunization rates for two-year-olds jumped from 60% to approximately 80%. This increase for Hudson enrollees was 11% greater than that of other New York medicaid health plans over the same period.
  • Mobile-phone friendly Medicaid enrollment Web sites are necessary because populations that rely most heavily on cell phones to access the Internet are also more likely to be uninsured. Hudson is New York State's only Medicaid Managed Care plan to launch a mobile-friendly Web site (http://www.hudsonhealthplan.org/m/). The site allows users to apply for coverage, find a doctor, pay their premiums, or call a Hudson Customer Care representative by tapping the toll-free number at the top of the site.

Ms. Chapin points out that New York State’s across-the-board cuts in Medicaid premiums put Hudson’s innovative programs at risk. “We are not a commercial insurer with multiple lines of business to cover expenses. We are a community-based, mission-driven not-for-profit organization whose sole product is public health insurance. Because of our reputation for quality care and customer service, physicians refer the sickest people to us. Our medical expenses account for 91 percent of what New York State pays us. Significant across-the-board cuts in premiums threaten our ability to fund innovation and reward physicians for quality care.

“It is imperative that states recognize the value of managed care innovation in our collective efforts to improve care and control costs. Not everybody is willing to take on these challenges,” Ms. Chapin continues. “Hudson Health Plan is honored to be selected as a finalist for the national Medicaid Health Plan Innovation Award. We hope that New York State also will recognize our unique contributions and reimburse us accordingly.”

For More Information:

About Hudson Health Plan

Hudson Health Plan is a community-based not-for-profit health care organization that provides state-sponsored Medicaid Managed Care, Child Health Plus, and Family Health Plus insurance coverage to over 100,000 members in New York’s Hudson Valley. Hudson uses every government dollar it receives to fulfill its mission, which is “to promote and provide access to excellent health services for all people.” Hudson improves the health of its members and the communities in which they live through its innovations in care coordination, and by supporting over 5,000 local health providers. In both 2009 and 2010, Hudson achieved the highest quality incentive scores of any Medicaid plan in New York State. It also has earned the highest ratings in overall satisfaction among Medicaid Managed Care members in the Hudson Valley region every year since 2003.

Hudson Health Plan is based in Tarrytown, N.Y. Visit Hudson on the Web at www.hudsonhealthplan.org, and at www.facebook.com/hudsonhealthplan.

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