ICYMI: Business Acumen Center Weekly Update

We are sharing this members-only column from last Friday’s Weekly Update as a courtesy to our members.

From Donna Martin, Director of State Partnerships and Special Projects:

As we consider the tenants of integrated care, we should take a look at the array of states and This week was full of Policy Summit activity!  The week kicked off with a presentation to the ANCOR Board on ideas to further implement the materials and resources of the Business Acumen Grant.  We recommended that the materials developed be distilled into a more user-friendly format for easier reference by I/DD service providers and that ANCOR provide technical assistance to organizations seeking to implement the process.  Stay tuned for more to come on that as we consider grant opportunities to enable this work.

The Policy Summit itself open on Tuesday morning with a welcome from ANCOR CEO, Barbara Merrill, Board President Robert Budd, and ANCOR Foundation Chair, Chris Stevenson.  We hosted several interesting speakers including a panel on Business Acumen and Integrated Care.  Shannon Mackenzie from Simply Connect Me Technical Solutions and Kris Kubnick form Inclusa, Inc. shared their insights on integrated care and provider readiness for operating in a managed long-term service and supports environment. 

Shannon discussed the value her organization and that of partner organization, Altair ACO, found in the Business Acumen work and how it helped to shape their goals and business plan development.  Focusing on partnership with the state, Altair is building an integrated care model of service to over 30,000 people in Minnesota,

From Kris, we learned how Inclusa serves over 15,000 people with I/DD, physical disabilities and frail elders in Wisconsin.  They do so by implementing a philosophy of partnership with local resources to build sustainable relationships.  To do this they use a “power with” approach and recognize that we are most effective when we work together with payers, providers, and stakeholders.

The week wrapped-up with my participation on a workgroup discussing quality measures in I/DD services and how they are defined for people receiving services, providers, MCOs and states.  As we anticipate CMS’ intent to define outcome measures, stakeholders are working to crystalize our thinking on this topic and ready ourselves to make recommendations on metrics most meaningful to home and community-based services.  This is a key conversation in I/DD service circles and ANCOR is an active voice at the table on behalf of our members.