Health Care Payment Improvement Initiative
By: Deedra Wilson
Updated: June 28, 2012
A major expansion of health care in Arkansas is underway.
Because the state wants a healthier Arkansas.
We are ranked at the bottom of all states in areas such as diabetes and heart disease.
So what's being done about it?
The Arkansas Healthcare Payment Improvement Initiative will launch July 1st, 2012.
The initiative will reward health care providers financially, if they improve or maintain their patient's health and deliver high quality, cost effective care.
It's a collaboration of leaders from the Department of Human Services, Arkansas Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield and QualChoice, they all met today to explain the bottom line.
John Sellig, Director of Arkansas Department of Human Services said, "We want to encourage and give providers incentives to do good work. And we want to share the savings with them, and hopefully our clients will see a better system and navigate through it more easily, get more prevention and focus on wellness."
According to Sellig, good news for both sides, a way to motivate healthcare providers and doctors.
On the other hand, the state is hoping Arkansans will be in better health and live longer.
