Already Wednesday and time for your
NCMS Morning Rounds.
Oct. 23, 2019
This Morning: NCMS Testifies on NC Medicaid Transformation
NCMS Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel Chip Baggett, JD, will testify before the NC House Health Committee this morning on the status of the state’s Medicaid transformation to managed care. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. Listen in on the proceedings taking place in room 544/Finance.
Representatives from the NC Department of Health and Human Services and the NC Health Care Association will also testify.
Baggett intends to share the perspective of our physician and physician assistant members with legislators, enumerating the issues members have brought to our attention as well as ideas on how to ensure the transformation of the state’s Medicaid program is as painless as possible for physicians and physician assistants as well as their patients. He will urge committee members to remember the lessons of the past (i.e. NC Tracks) and to more fully appreciate the enormous magnitude of this transformation.
Continued access to care for patients and administrative simplification issues around credentialing, contracting and reimbursement are among the areas to be addressed by Baggett.
$13 million Awarded to UNC to Support Maternal Health
The US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded a total of $13 million to the University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health to create a “premier resource center that leverages existing expertise in maternal and child health systems to reduce maternal death and severe illness through innovative, evidence-based strategies.”
The 2019 ‘America’s Health Rankings’ Health of Women and Children report from the United Health Foundation listed the US as having the highest maternal mortality rate in the world among developed countries. [Read the latest report on infant mortality in North Carolina in the In the News section of this newsletter.]
Recognizing that something needs to be done to address the issues around maternal and infant health, the NCMS convened a Summit earlier this month. The gathering in Raleigh brought together 120 stakeholders to examine the challenges affecting maternal and infant health outcomes especially among minorities, and to begin to develop a consensus on actions to make significant improvements in this area.
Among those presenting at the Summit was Alison Stuebe, MD, one of the three faculty members who will implement the ‘Supporting Maternal Health Innovation Program,’ which is being funded by the HRSA award.
With $2.6 million per year for a five-year period, primary investigator Dorothy Cilenti, DrPH, associate professor of maternal and child health; and co-primary investigators Sarah Verbiest, DrPH, adjunct faculty in maternal and child health and associate professor in UNC’s School of Social Work along with Dr. Stuebe will provide capacity building assistance to HRSA’s many maternal health grantees and other stakeholders, who are part of a collaborative effort to address disparities in maternal health and improve maternal health outcomes across the country.
Join the Pirate Nation for Medical Appreciation Day at ECU
To demonstrate appreciation for the impact medical professionals have on the Greenville community, ECU is offering a special opportunity to join the Pirate Nation for an exciting Saturday of fun and football at Dowdy-Ficklen stadium at ECU.
Whether you are ECU alumni or not, you can join others from the medical community this Saturday, Oct. 26 at 3:45 p.m. when the ECU Pirates take on the South Florida Bulls. Reserve your tickets ($25 each) here. Tickets will be delivered on game day via email. The offer expires 48 hours before the event.
Contact Annalise Bath at (252)737-2351 or [email protected] with questions.
In the News
Infant Survival Improved in North Carolina, But Black Babies More Likely to Die, Raleigh News & Observer, 10-22-19
Learning Opportunity
The NC Department of Health and Human Services Opioid and Prescription Drug Abuse Advisory Committee (NC DHHS OPDAAC) will hold its regular meeting on Friday, Dec. 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. This meeting’s focus will be on Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in Jails. Learn more and register.