The Blog

Susan Dreyfus, Director, Department of Social and Health Services

05/09/11

Our state’s tradition of health care innovation took another step forward recently when Washington won a $1 million federal grant to improve care systems for patients covered by both Medicare and Medicaid. At the Department of Social and Health Services, we will use the grant to integrate medical care, behavioral health and long-term care for these patients, called “dual eligibles.”

Our plan has three phases:

• Phase one will look at ways to bring high-cost, dual eligibles with recurring or long-lasting illnesses into chronic care management initiatives that now serve other Medicaid clients with similar illnesses.

• Phase two will explore how Medicaid-managed care — a system in which the department contracts with health care providers — can better serve dual eligibles.

• Phase three will finalize these models and set up integrated, managed care systems for dual eligibles, which should improve care and reduce costs.

With this plan, we aim to deliver high-quality care at lower cost to patients and taxpayers and develop a model other states can follow.