Department of Health, Department of Health Facilities, and Department of Human Services

A unique partnership was launched on January 1, 2015 to provide additional help to Medicaid beneficiaries in West Virginia.  The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Medical Services and Partners in Health Network, Inc. will address the special needs of Medicaid beneficiaries who are frequent visitors to hospital emergency rooms. By sharing resources, health care providers and West Virginia Medicaid staff will seek interventions to improve outcomes for these individuals.

“This partnership was developed through the Health Innovation Collaborative which provides a forum for developing public and private relationships to improve the health and well-being of the citizens of West Virginia,” said West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Cabinet Secretary Karen L. Bowling. “We are delighted to find providers who are interested in working with us to improve the care and efficiency of high-need Medicaid beneficiaries.”

Similarly, Doug Bentz, CEO of Roane General Hospital and Chairman of the Board of Partners in Health Network, added, “The non-profit providers of Partners in Health Network and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources share a mission to improve care and make the State’s dollars spent on Medicaid programs go further. We are pleased to work with them to make these improvements.”

Health care providers and Medicaid will begin identifying beneficiaries who might benefit from additional or alternative health care resources.  Interventions will then be designed to improve outcomes and progress will be measured through West Virginia’s care database.  Managed care organizations will also be included in order to provide a seamless implementation across different Medicaid populations.

State officials and partner clinicians envision a three-year program to target those most in need of help; to provide care as needed; and, ultimately, to document improvements in outcomes and demonstrate the care efficiencies achieved.

Partners in Health Network, Inc. is a nonprofit, rural health network covering twenty counties in central and southern West Virginia.  The network includes a teaching hospital, community hospitals, a psychiatric hospital, community health centers, a free clinic, primary care providers, community mental health centers, a quality institute, EMS providers, and a long terms care facility.