Missouri Medicaid (MO HealthNet) Adds Chronic Care Improvement Program

Every year Medicare and Medicaid participants nervously anticipate changes to their coverage. This 2008, Missouri residents will find that the renamed Missouri Medicaid, now MO HealthNet, includes notable differences to the state health program, especially for the chronically ill.

MO HealthNet has instituted the Chronic Care Improvement Program (CCIP), following governmental and patient advocacy debate in 2007. CCIP is a voluntary program, now managed by APS HealthCare, and with it arrives new rights and responsibilities.

For the patient, CCIP is designed to help patients "understand their illness and take better care of their health," according to letters sent to select patients by APS Healthcare. Patients will have 24-hour access to an accredited health professional, be able to discuss symptoms, find specialty care, and obtain other advice.

For the government, CCIP is designed to save money by promoting good health decisions.

While current Missouri Medicaid enrollees may be tentatively enrolled in the program, and receive a letter to that effect, a signed release is required for active participation in the Chronic Care Improvement Program.

Should Patients Sign the CCIP Consent Form?

Under CCIP, patients are assigned a nurse that serves as a patient advocate. Allegedly, the CCIP nurse helps patients understand their illness, talk to their doctor and make wise health decisions.

Sounds smart, but this free health service is not without costs - foremost is privacy. The APS Healthcare Nurse may contact participants at home, by phone or mail at her discretion.

As MO HealthNet better embraces preventive medicine and is edging toward insurance-based health rewards, patients may be encouraged to eat better, exercise and stop smoking.

The bottom line is that it remains to be seen how much hounding patients will receive for less than stellar self-care decisions. Additionally, this level of medical intimacy is one step behind basing medical coverage on a patient's willingness to follow mainstream health advice.