Gov. Malloy: Connecticut Awarded $9.7 to Integrate Health Care for High-Cost Medicaid Beneficiaries

Press Release

Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced a new federal award of $9.7 million for spurring a Connecticut initiative to transform the way health care is delivered to children and families with extensive behavioral and physical health needs.

"Better health outcomes for at least 2,250 New Haven-area residents and cost-savings in the Medicaid program are the main goals of the "WrapAround New Haven' initiative," Governor Malloy said. "I congratulate the Clifford Beers Clinic for its innovative plan, developed with the support of state agencies. I also thank the Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for selecting Connecticut's application among only 12 funded in the latest round."

Following a highly competitive process, Clifford Beers Clinic -- a 100-year-old mental health provider for children and families -- was selected from hundreds of applicants to receive this substantial three-year Health Care Innovations Award program funding.

"WrapAround New Haven' will allow teams of community-based care coordinators to work with children and their families from the target population of high-needs, high-cost Medicaid beneficiaries. Care plans for each family that draw upon appropriate medical and behavioral health services will be created, and care coordinators will manage the transitions between providers so that patients do not fall between the gaps.

Governor Malloy continued, "This work aligns with both the state's Medicaid reform agenda, which is focusing on access to primary care and attention to mental health needs. It also relates to the larger, multi-payer State Innovation Model (SIM) effort spearheaded by Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman. SIM will focus on other factors that enable people to use health care effectively, such as housing stability, food security, and personal safety."

Simply put, WrapAround New Haven is aimed at improving health outcomes, enhancing health services through coordinated care, and reducing the overall cost of care.

"In short, accomplishing the first two goals will lead to fulfilling the third goal," said Dr. Alice M. Forrester, executive director of Clifford Beers Clinic. "When health and wellness are achieved, children and families are kept out of costly inpatient facilities and hospital emergency rooms. Specifically, projected health care savings are near $12 million for Medicaid and will be realized by replacing high-cost hospital care with more appropriate community-based services where care coordination teams support families for their basic needs such as housing, transportation, and child care. Moreover, these teams will help families secure access to preventive and primary care."

Said Department of Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby, whose agency administers Medicaid in Connecticut: "It is clear that addressing the needs of all members of the family, as well as providing effective treatment to children who suffer from trauma, support both good health outcomes and reduction of Medicaid spending on acute and emergency care."

Dr. Forrester noted that many organizations and agencies contributed to the success of the award, including the State of Connecticut and its child- and family-serving agencies: "Our partnership with the Department of Children and Families and Commissioner Joette Katz was instrumental in our model design. Particularly helpful was a pledge from the Department of Social Services. DSS has agreed to work with WrapAround New Haven and design a Medicaid payment reform mechanism within the initiative's three-year period. By doing so, DSS will play a large role in sustaining community-based care coordination beyond the scope of this initiative."

Specifics regarding the implementation of WrapAround New Haven include the following:

Multi-disciplinary teams will: 1) engage and recruit through community sites eligible enrollees from within New Haven; 2) screen and assess each enrolled family's physical, behavioral, and psychosocial strengths and needs; 3) develop a family-focused care plan; 4) coordinate cost-effective care across multiple providers/manage care transitions such as hospital discharge to home, and; 5) offer wellness and social support services at accessible community sites (e.g., parenting classes, smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, healthy cooking, and meditation).

Total number of beneficiaries over three years will be 2,250 unduplicated child and adult Medicaid beneficiaries.

Beneficiaries' average length of stay in WrapAround New Haven will be 12 to 18 months.

WrapAround New Haven will include collaboration with the following providers:
Fair Haven Community Health Center
Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital
The City of New Haven Department of Health
New Haven Public Schools
Yale University School of Medicine (via the New Haven MOMS Partnership)
CT Department of Social Services
CT Department of Children and Families
CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Gateway Community College

Service delivery is expected to begin in September. Throughout its initial three-year period, WrapAround New Haven will review child and family outcomes and continue to refine delivery to make it as effective and cost-efficient as possible.

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