Integrated care causes concern among disability advocates
October 12, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn
llinois is moving forward with a new integrated care program that could save the state $200 million over five years, but disability rights activists say they are worried about the future of their health care.
Insurers Aetna Inc. and Centene-IlliniCare have received five-year contracts for $450 million annually to manage the care of nearly 40,000 Medicaid patients in a six-county program set to begin in January. All of the patients’ medical services will be handled by one HMO, limiting the redundancy and overhead of the current system, while focusing on prevention and improving overall patient health.
“You hire people to stay in touch with patients—to monitor their illnesses and try to catch things before they go to the hospital,” said Margie Schaps, executive director of the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group in Chicago. “It’s a whole different model of care.”
Read more here: Integrated care causes concern among disability advocates.
