$3.6M grant to help implement waiver

The R.I. Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS)has received a $3.6 million planning grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for an integrated information technology system to support implementation of the state’s Medicaid global waiver.
The grant, which requires the state to cover 10 percent of the cost, is already being put to use, state officials said, while a second grant from CMS will support the implementation of plans developed now, starting in late 2010.
In a news release, Gary Alexander, secretary of the EOHHS, said CMS has awarded many such grants to states in the last two years as part of a federal initiative to get everyone to use a consistent approach called the Medicaid Information Technology Architecture.
“Rhode Island’s award was timed nicely to be part of the beginning of the global waiver initiatives,” he said. “Part of the problem is that we have many data systems, but they’re not integrated and not readily accessible. We have an opportunity with this federal funding to streamline business processes and IT systems to accomplish our goals and enhance the global waiver.”
The state also received CMS approval to develop the CHOICES Project, which involves a data warehouse system for comprehensive reporting and a management system to handle applications and care management functions for long-term care services. Those systems will be implemented this November, officials said.
Altogether, officials said, the IT upgrades will provide the state with a broader spectrum of information on Medicaid and related programs, allow for better coordination and management, and improve budget forecasting and program planning.
As part of the improvements, every consumer will be given a periodic “healthy report update” on his or her utilization of health services.