NCD Letter to CMS Soliciting Its Participation at Upcoming NCD Medicaid Managed Care Forums

February 3, 2014

Barbara Edwards, Director
Disabled and Elderly Health Programs
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Department of Health and Human Services
7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850

Dear Director Edwards:

On behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD), I want to thank you for participating in the December 5, 2013 NCD Medicaid Managed Care Regional Forum at Topeka, KS. Your involvement demonstrates to stakeholders that through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the Department of Health and Human Services is committed to ensuring that stakeholder input and meaningful involvement occurs as an important component of the planning and implementation of Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) programs.

As you know, NCD is planning additional forums on the topic. I want to personally invite you to participate in the Federal and State panels. The additional forum dates and locations for your calendar are:

February 21, 2014 - Tallahassee, FL
March 24, 2014 - Chicago, IL
May 7, 2014 - Sacramento, CA
June 3, 2014 - New York, NY

By convening the MMC forums, NCD seeks to (1) facilitate opportunities for input regarding experiences, preferences and desired outcomes for Medicaid managed care; (2) promote the principles outlined in the NCD report, Medicaid Managed Care for People with Disabilities /publications/2013/20130315/; and (3) expand stakeholder outreach to include underserved people with disabilities, disability leaders, federal and state agency representatives, health plan organizers, and service providers. At the conclusion of the final MMC forum in this series, NCD will compile a summary for dissemination. The information will include forum proceedings, stakeholder input, and recommendations for best practices that can to be developed into MMC policy directives and guidance.

For the Tallahassee forum your staff indicates that you might not be available to participate personally, but that a staff member will be engaged on behalf of CMS. Your effort to continue CMS representation is appreciated. Other federal and state partners on the panel discussing the planning and implementation of Medicaid managed care are: Timothy Nooland, Manager, Office of Civil Rights, Region IV; Stephanie McCladdie, SAMHSA Regional Director, Region IV; Secretary Charles Cortely, Florida Department of Elder Affairs; Justin Senior, Deputy Director for Medicaid, Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration; and Sarah Somers, National Health Law Program. An agenda is being finalized. Please watch for distribution of that agenda closer to the February 21, 2014 date. That information will be provided to you by Ellen Piekalkiewicz of Capital Health Strategies, NCD’s contractor for the forums.

We look forward to continuing to work with you on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Jeff Rosen
Chairperson
National Council on Disability