Systems
Transformation Grants
IOWA
Grant Information
Name of Grantee
Department
of Human Services, Iowa Medicaid Enterprise
Title of Grant
IowaCare:
Rebalancing for Increased Community Capacity, Access, and Choice
Type of Grant
Real
Choice Systems Transformation Grant
Amount of Grant
$2,286,469
Year Original Funding
Received
2005
Contact Information
Debbie Johnson, Program Manager
Iowa Medicaid Enterprise
100 Army Post Road
Des Moines, IA 50315-6257
515-725-1012
djohnso6@dhs.state.ia.us
Subcontractor(s)
The Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD),
University of Iowa
Iowa Department of Transportation
Iowa Finance Authority
Myers and Stauffer
Iowa
Foundation for Medical Care
Target Population(s)
All individuals with
disabilities and the elderly.
Goals
- Improved access to
life-term support services: development of one-stop system.
- Creation of a system
that more effectively manages the funding for long-term supports that
promote community living options.
- Long-term supports
coordinated with affordable and accessible housing.
Activities
- Augment Iowa's Aging and
Disability Resource Center (ADRC) project to create a Web-based
information and referral system for older Iowans and people with
disabilities that customizes information for
users.
- Develop an accessible
housing registry and link it to the ADRC project's enhanced virtual
information and referral system.
- Establish an
eligibility/assessment work group of community providers, case managers,
and Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) personnel to develop strategies to
improve efficiencies in the eligibility/assessment process, and to
identify areas of confusion about policies, staffing issues, and training
needs.
- Ensure that hospital
discharge planners and other health professionals in the "long-term
care critical pathway" are trained and equipped to support community
living options.
- Develop a statewide
resource allocation plan that will expand home and community services for
both the frail elderly and people with disabilities.
- Develop mechanisms to
ensure the availability of technical assistance and support to
institutional providers seeking to diversify.
- Develop a case-mix
adjusted reimbursement methodology for intermediate care facilities for
the mentally retarded and for home and community services.
- Develop and implement
the framework for the use of electronic medical records to track Medicaid
service utilization by individuals with complex health care needs.
- Implement assessments
to monitor the health care quality of people with mental retardation and
developmental disabilities to identify opportunities to improve health
status and outcomes.
- Enhance coordination
and expansion of transportation services as a critical support for
community living by designing and implementing a regional service brokerage
program.
- Develop counseling and
assistance with housing-related supports for individuals at risk of
institutionalization to help them stay in the community.
- Present a
"Housing Summit III" in collaboration with the Executive Office
to educate stakeholders on the continuing urgent need for affordable and
accessible housing in Iowa.
Abstract
The heart of IME's
Systems Transformation efforts is the IowaCare
Medicaid reform legislation, passed during the 2005 legislative session, that sets the direction for the redesign of Iowa's system of
long-term supports for individuals with disabilities and older Iowans. The
Systems Transformation grant will improve information and access, streamline
the eligibility and assessment process, develop a case-mix adjusted
reimbursement methodology for disability services and a plan for expansion for
home and community services, and develop strategies to improve health care
quality for people with mental retardation, developmental disabilities, and
complex medical conditions.