From the Director's Chair

Ohio Department of Medicaid sent this bulletin at 06/21/2022 02:03 PM EDT

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As we get closer to the end of our fiscal year, a lot of work is underway at Ohio Medicaid to help improve care and access for our members and to make providing that care easier for our stakeholders. These are big efforts that will have big results for the people we serve, and I appreciate the opportunity to share some recent highlights with you:

First Lady with Director Corcoran and others

First Lady joins OhioRISE CME launch party

On Wednesday, the OhioRISE teams from Aetna and ODM joined First Lady Fran DeWine and more than 100 representatives from the care management entities (CMEs) to celebrate the upcoming launch of OhioRISE. As you likely know, OhioRISE is a coordinated behavioral health managed care program for children and youth. The CMEs are regional community-based organizations led and staffed by people from the communities they serve. They will be our boots-on-the-ground care coordinators for young people in OhioRISE who have the most complex behavioral health needs. The spirit of excitement and collaboration was palpable. I am delighted we were able to celebrate the contributions made by our OhioRISE community to launch the program July 1.

Even better: We all worked together to assemble some 2,500 backpacks filled with school supplies and an Ohio Imagination Library flyer for OhioRISE children. It was an inspiring day!

Rate setting for new Ohio Medicaid mobile crisis service showcased as a national model

Our own Marisa Weisel, deputy director of strategic initiatives at Ohio Medicaid and one of the leaders behind OhioRISE, represented the agency at the June 14, Technical Assistance Collaborative Webinar on Mobile Crisis. During a national panel discussion, Marisa shared the unique transparent process Ohio Medicaid used to set rates for the new mobile response and stabilization service (MRSS). MRSS is an on-demand service that youth and their caregivers can use when they are experiencing behavioral health crises. Our partners at the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services have been working on standing up MRSS in Ohio for the last three years. Medicaid payment for MRSS will help expand access to this critical service to Medicaid members across the state.

With national attention focused on addressing the mental health needs of our children, I am gratified to see Ohio being looked to as a leader in this space. The event was sponsored by the National Association of Medicaid Directors, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors.

Relief funds helped keep healthcare providers whole

I have been monitoring the Federal CARES Act’s Coronavirus Relief Funding and aid Ohio Medicaid has distributed through the Federal ARPA program, and I am truly amazed at what we have been able to accomplish. Ohio Medicaid has distributed more than $1.6 billion through both programs to providers across the state. That is a big number – almost too big to picture. But I know those dollars mean that hospitals and clinics in rural areas were able to remain open, nursing homes and many other providers who work with vulnerable populations were able to keep paying healthcare workers, and that our Medicaid members continued to receive the care they needed during the pandemic.

Thank you for the work you do to help us improve wellness and health outcomes for Ohio individuals and families.

Sincerely,

Maureen Corcoran

Director

Ohio Department of Medicaid

PS: Did you know that Ohioans who rely on Medicaid come from diverse, rich backgrounds? Our members speak more than 100 languages including French, Greek, Nepali, Ukrainian, Somali, and Japanese.

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