Thursday, August 30, 2012

Fw: RELEASE House Speaker Comments on Federal Approval of Medicaid Managed Care Program

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From: "Bettencourt, Shannon" <Shannon.Bettencourt@leg.state.nh.us>
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:23:37 -0400
To: Bettencourt, Shannon<Shannon.Bettencourt@leg.state.nh.us>
Subject: RELEASE House Speaker Comments on Federal Approval of Medicaid Managed Care Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shannon Bettencourt, (603) 271-3664

August 30, 2012

 

House Speaker Comments on Federal Approval of Medicaid Managed Care Program

 

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien today offered the following comments regarding news that the federal government has approved New Hampshire’s state plan amendment to implement managed care.  This allows the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to begin enrolling beneficiaries in managed care, which should begin around January 1.  Senate Bill 147, from 2011, required the state to begin managed care and the Executive Council approved the contracts for vendors in March.

 

House Speaker William O’Brien

 

“Managed care for Medicaid will mean savings for the hardworking taxpayers of New Hampshire and better care for those on Medicaid, as the focus will shift to prevention, and not simply treating people who get sick.  It’s truly unfortunate that the Obama administration chose to drag their feet with this approval process for what is a very straightforward Medicaid managed care plan.  Forty six other states use managed care for their Medicaid programs and there is no reason why the process needed to take this long in the Washington red tape factory.  We will soon find out just how much this delay cost our taxpayers.”

 

“I want to commend DHHS Commissioner Nick Toumpas and his staff for their extraordinary work to make this process work, despite the federal interference.  They are committed to delivering a better and financially healthier Medicaid program through managed care.”

 

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