January 2020 |  Vol. 5   No. 7

Deputy Director's Corner

Everyone,

As we continue our mission to be a best in class Medicaid agency, serving our most vulnerable populations, in a way that is financially sustainable, we will also continue to have “placemats”.  The department will have a new placemat for 2020 and MO HealthNet will have its own placemat as well.  We have learned over the past couple years that simple is probably better, and our placemats should highlight what we are doing, and not be a way to try to come up with new projects!  We have plenty of projects going on.  Very soon the department placemat should be done and we are currently putting the MO  HealthNet placemat together, as well.  I will have more about the placemats in next month’s newsletter.  Overall, I can tell you that the department’s themes are Safety and well-being for children and youth; Economic Independence for Missourians; a Best in class Medicaid program; and High-performing teams.  So, you can see that MO HealthNet is one of the department’s top priorities.  With thousands of employees across DSS, we run the entire MO HealthNet division from one floor of the Howerton Building!  That is very impressive and each one of you is important to MHD and the Missourians we serve every single day.

I would like to say a big thanks to Linda Archer who has stepped up to be MHD’s new Safety Coordinator!

What is NMT?  NMT stands for Neurosequential Model Therapy.  At MO HealthNet, we are trying out the NMT process with one of our providers.  It is not costing us anything extra and we hope it will show good results for some of the children in our program.  Sometimes when a child has suffered trauma, and they are tested, they may appear to have multiple diagnoses of multiple disorders or conditions.  But, with the right approach, developed by using a specialized assessment,  a high-risk child can benefit from therapy and activities designed specifically for him or her, reducing the diagnoses..  Keep reading our monthly newsletters for updates on this effort, and updates on other programs, each month.

MO HealthNet receives MOM Grant!  The MOM Grant is a Maternal Opioid Misuse grant, awarded by CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) that can last up to  five years.  The first year is to help MO HealthNet’s community partners build infrastructure, and years 2-5 will be to provide special services to moms with opioid use disorder.  MHD will hire a person to administer all aspects of the grant (the grant pays for the position), and the new employee will report to Terri Woodward.  We owe a huge thanks to Teresa Wortmann and Ashley Wilson for their work submitting the MOM grant application.  You will see a job announcement for this new position soon.

Chiropractic services begin January 1, 2020!  MO HealthNet filed a new regulation and a State Plan Amendment to provide chiropractic services.  You can read a little about the new services at the regulation located at https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/13csr/13c70-3.pdf

MO HealthNet will also start its new Treat No Transport program January 1^st.  You can read more about TNT at the bulletin located at https://dss.mo.gov/mhd/providers/pages/bulletins.htm

A big thanks to Kim Johnson, Jamie Purnell, Julie Phillips and Nanci Nikodym for their work on these projects, as well as the MMIS and Managed Care (and I may have missed others!) personnel who contributed many hours to developing these programs.

In Festus, Missouri, a doctor and his company were sentenced for health care fraud.  You can read about it here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmo/pr/festus-doctor-and-his-company-sentenced-health-care-fraud .  MMAC had already taken action on this doctor’s participation with  MO HealthNet.

Happy New Year and have fun with your resolutions, whatever they are!  “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth;”  Isaiah 43.

Staff News

Welcome Aboard

Cinda Bishop joined the MHD team as an AOSA with the Money Follows the Person Unit. Cinda was born in Anchorage, Alaska and currently lives in California, Mo.  She has been married for 30 years, has five sons, a daughter, four dogs, one rabbit and an 18 year old African Grey Parrot.  She enjoys sewing, quilting, soap making, and spending time with her family and animals.  A little known facts about Cinda is that she worked as a zookeeper at the Alaska zoo and opened on of the first Doggy Daycares in Houston, Texas in 2001,.

Nate Percy joined MHD as the Director of Fiscal Policy Analytics & Innovation.   He comes to us from DFAS. Nate has a Bachelor's Degree from Tabor College in History/Political Science and a Masters from Pittsburgh State University in Recreational Management.  He is pursing a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Missouri. Nate and his wife Starr have 2 children (Calvin-4 & Charli-2) and a baby girl due in January.   To round out this household, we can't forget Thor, their Pomeranian. A little know fact about Nate is that he was on top of the Empire State Building when Captain Sully landed the plane in the Hudson River.

Molly Kempker joined the MHD team as a Program Development Specialist in Managed Care.   She previously worked for the Family Support Division. Molly and her husband Evan have been married for 3 1/2 years, have 2 Australian Shepherds (Piper & June), and reside in Westphalia.  They are expecting their first child in May, 2020. Molly enjoys crocheting, volleyball, reading, and crafting.    A little know fact about her is that she lives on a 100+ acre farm, which is also a wedding venue - Kempker's Back 40.  The venue is a family affair runs by her in-laws, brother-brother-in-law, his wife, and  husband Evan.  Moly helps out on the weekends.

Promotions & Staff Changes

• Teresa Johnson was promoted to a Program Development Specialist in the Managed Care Policy, Contract, and Compliance unit on December 9.
• Debra Dillard has been promoted to a Program Development Specialist in the Pharmacy Admin Unit effective January 6.
• Kristina Kleinheider has been promoted to a Medicaid Specialist in the MMIS Unit effective December 30.

Who's Who at MHD

Dana Bernier is the Constituent Education Manager at MO HealthNet (MHD).   Out of the 18 years that she has worked for the state of Missouri, 15+ have been at MHD. Dana supervises 3 constituent educators and the Managed Care Liaison team.   She and her team provide education and billing assistance to providers, troubleshoot, research claim denials, escalate managed care plan issues.  Dana is an education committee member for the Governor's Task Force on Medicaid Fraud; Opioid Advisory Council; and working on reviving the  Member Forum. When asked why she does what she does, she said, "I have always enjoyed meeting needs. In this capacity I have the privilege to meet needs and educate all day, every day. I enjoy building relationships and solving problems to allow our providers to bill successfully and in turn continue providing services to our participants. I love my job and working with everyone at MHD. " Dana enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and reading.   She is also awaiting the birth of her first grandson and that will definitely be her "Favorite Hobby."

Jacki Morrow is a Medicaid Technician in the Third Party Liability (TPL) unit.    She has worked for the state of Missouri for 9 years, 3.5 years with MO HealthNet (MHD). Jacki's job involves issuing TEFRA liens on properties owned by Medicaid participants in a nursing home.  When asked why she does what she does, she said "Our liens recover funds expended on participants while in a nursing home and on Medicaid, which allows us replenish resources so that we can continue to assist the needy." Jacki enjoys watching her son play baseball and basketball, loves to craft and make things when she has free time.   She said that most of her time is spent at the ballfield with her youngest son Trent.   She also loves to spoil and cater to her 2 granddaughters as well.   She has another grandbaby due in August.

Barbara Kliethermes officially retired on December 31, 2019 after 35 year of services.    Congratulations!!

Proud Families

Tami Jo Wilson welcomed this little bundle of joy into her family December 16.   Andi Jo Wilson is Tami's first grandchild, weighed 7 lb. 12 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. Tami says "she is perfect and  all we wanted for Christmas this year!!"

We give our sincerest condolences to the following staff:

• Glenda Kremer's father, Sylvester Muenks, passed away on November 17.
• Barbara Kliethermes' mother, Sylvia Roling, passed away on December 10.
• Jill Fidler's father passed away on December 28.

Kudos

A big THANK YOU goes out to the  following MHD, ITSD and Wipro employees who have worked many hours on the  working on T-MSIS and have significantly reduced our error rates:

MHD  Connection News

MHD Connection welcomes its newest members: Nanci Nikodym and Karen Pendleton.  We still need 3 more new members.   Thank you for your consideration to join this great group.

Be looking for a survey coming out sometime in January regarding our Annual Awards luncheon.    Please let us know what you thought and any suggestions you might have for future events.

The new employee suggestion email is up and running.    If you have wish to send your suggestion you can now email MHD. EmployeeSuggestions@dss.mo.gov or drop it in the suggestion box located in Center Court.

Holiday Decorating Contest. MO HealthNet employees enjoyed some friendly competition and turned on the creative juices in December.  The theme this year was "your favorite holiday story." The Grinch was a popular story, along with the Polar Express, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Twas the Night Before Christmas and much more.  After a lot of deliberation, the winning unit was the Pharmacy Admin group for their portrayal of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

Hey There Neighbor...(returning in January) Have a "neighbor" cube that needs a little decoration?  Hey There Neighbor will continue indefinitely and the fences will be "re-decorated" for the next appropriate holiday and/or theme.  REMINDER: In order to move the fence, contact any MHD Connection member, pay your $1.00 and tell them who you want to move it to.   They will deliver it for you. If you receive the fence, you will keep it for at least one day before it is moved to the next one.   If you receive the fence and do not want to participate, please let a MHD Connection member know so that we can "keep the fence moving."

MHD Connection Staff Forums Due to the overwhelming response to MHD Connection’s Staff Forum “Dealing with Difficult People ,” a second session will be held on January 8 in Conference Room 202, starting at 1:00 p.m.   If you haven’t already done so, send an email to MHD.Connection@dss.mo.gov. MHD Connection is working on additional Staff Forum's in 2020.  Stay tuned!!

MHD Calendar

• 01-01   New Year's Holiday
• 01-07  Bagel & Donut Day
• 01-08  Dealing with Difficult People Staff Forum
• 01-20  Martin Luther King State Holiday