Rhode Island has been awarded $130 million dollars over the next five years from the federal government to continue its work overhauling Medicaid. The health insurance program for the poor serves nearly one in three Rhode Islanders. The money is earmarked for efforts that pay for better quality care instead of the quantity of care.
The money comes from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and will be used to match dollars Rhode Island is already spending to transform its Medicaid system. Most of the money will go to health care providers to help expand electronic medical records, for instance, or pay for staff that can help doctors deliver better, more coordinated care. Secretary of Health and Human Services Elizabeth Roberts says some of the funds will be used to help train new health care workers.
“The colleges and universities will also benefit from a portion of this to help train the workforce we need for the future.”
The University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and The Community College of Rhode Island will share about five percent of the funds to boost health care education. Hospitals and nursing homes could share about $20 million in incentive payments for meeting quality targets.
But with a new presidential administration taking office this January, could the funds be in jeopardy? Health and human services secretary Elizabeth Roberts says she believes not.
“I will say in my work nationally on health care, this innovation work is not a red state/blue state issue. I think this type of investment in health care is one that will endure beyond changes in our national health care structure.”
About $20 million dollars of the funds could go to hospitals and nursing homes that provide higher quality care.
The grant matches dollars Rhode Island is already spending on Medicaid initiatives.
Roberts says the money will not be used to offset the cost of recent increases in enrollment in Medicaid. More than 300,000 Rhode Islanders are now enrolled in the program, which uses nearly a third of the state’s budget.
A new director of Medicaid has yet to be named, since its most recent incumbent, Anya Rader Wallack, stepped down.
Upon taking office, Gov. Gina Raimondo made boosting quality and reducing costs in Medicaid a central initiative, signing an executive order to create a task force to “reinvent” Medicaid. Raimondo says that initial effort has saved the state $100 million dollars.
