INDIANAPOLIS, June 18, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- MDwise, Inc. has been chosen to enter into contract negotiations to provide services for the Indiana Care Select Program on behalf of the Family and Social Services Administration's (FSSA's) Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning.
According to Charlotte MacBeth, MDwise president, "MDwise maintains a unique collaborative relationship with our fully integrated health care delivery systems, as well as community organizations. Our robust network of hospitals, physicians and other safety net providers stands ready to build upon our successful statewide Hoosier Healthwise managed care model and will now begin to serve aged, blind and disabled (ABD) Medicaid members."
Under the new contract, which is slated to begin Oct. 1, 2007, MDwise will perform care management, Indiana Chronic Disease Management Program (ICDMP) call center functions and prior authorization functions for its assigned Indiana Care Select membership.
MDwise will supply its Care Select members with programs designed specifically for Indiana, yet bolstered by best practice national experience. To do this, MDwise has partnered with AmeriHealth Mercy to use PerforMED(sm), AmeriHealth Mercy's care management product. PerforMED has been proven to generate positive clinical outcomes and financial results for its clients using a population-based approach to care coordination for the ABD population.
According to MacBeth, MDwise chose to work with AmeriHealth Mercy because both health plans are provider-sponsored, mission-driven and member-focused, holding as a central tenet the belief that success will be measured by how well the companies help people get care, stay well and build healthy communities.
"We believe MDwise's local history and community ties, excellent member and provider services, and enduring focus on quality improvement bolstered by the intensive care management approach and prior authorization functions that will be supplied by AmeriHealth Mercy -- create a winning combination to produce the comprehensive care coordination system desired by the State for Indiana Care Select," said MacBeth.
MDwise is a not-for-profit managed care health plan that began its operations in 1994. MDwise was founded by The Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County (Wishard Memorial Hospital) and Clarian Health Partners. With the addition of the Indiana Care Select Program, MDwise will expand its focus on Medicaid members in Indiana. MDwise has a variety of programs and capabilities to meet the special medical and social needs of the Medicaid population. Its services are currently provided to more than 283,000 Hoosier Healthwise members in partnership with over 1,400 primary medical providers and a statewide array of specialists, hospitals and other providers.
MDwise and its delivery systems provide a fully integrated network of hospitals, community health centers, physicians and ancillary providers. Services are delivered through this delivery system model of managed care to provide a coordinated, comprehensive approach to managing the cost and utilization of health care services.
The MDwise delivery systems include:
* MDwise Wishard * MDwise Methodist * MDwise St. Francis * MDwise ProHealth * MDwise Saint Margaret Mercy * MDwise St. Catherine * MDwise Select Health Network * MDwise St. Vincent * MDwise Hoosier Alliance, An AmeriHealth Mercy Company * Comprehensive Behavioral Care, Inc. (CompCare)
For more information about MDwise, visit www.mdwise.org.
With more than 20 years of experience exclusively serving the Medicaid population, AmeriHealth Mercy and its affiliates comprise the largest family of Medicaid managed care plans in the United States, touching the lives of more than 2 million members nationwide. For more information, visit www.amerihealthmercy.com.