Best Practices in Medicaid Managed Care

July 11, 2024 Webinar
This is a SAMHSA sponsored webinar presented by the Innovations Institute.
Description: Approximately 70% of Medicaid beneficiaries are enrolled in some form of Medicaid Managed Care (MCO) plan across the United States and over half of all Medicaid payments are made to MCOs. Given the growing presence of MCOs in Medicaid and the expanded role these plans play in delivering behavioral health services, it is imperative for states to implement best practice strategies in managing Medicaid managed care contracts across the life span of the contract. This webinar provides concrete and relevant guidance, examples, and strategies to manage Medicaid managed care contracts from procurement all the way through quality review and reevaluation. It also includes recommendations to better track MCO performance and outcomes related to children’s behavioral health.
Presenter: Suzanne Fields, Senior Advisor for Healthcare Strategies for Innovations Institute at University of Connecticut School of Social Work, is a national expert in children's systems and Medicaid financing for child and adult services. A clinical social worker with nearly 30 years of experience, her work has spanned multiple settings including Medicaid, managed care, mental health and substance use, child and adult services, and child welfare. Ms. Fields consults to state Medicaid, behavioral health, child welfare and juvenile justice authorities on the design, financing and implementation of effective behavioral health services for adults and children. Previously, she served as the Senior Advisor to the Administrator for Health Care Financing with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In that role, she was responsible for leading the agency’s work on the Affordable Care Act and Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity Act, including policy, financing, regulations, federal and state implementation, and collaboration with federal partners. Prior to joining SAMHSA, Ms. Fields worked for the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC), a national nonprofit consulting firm. In that role, she assisted states in numerous Medicaid, managed care, mental health and substance use disorder efforts, dissemination of best practices, cross system financing, system design and delivery, and quality initiatives. Prior to joining TAC, Ms. Fields was director of the Office of Behavioral Health for Massachusetts Medicaid, where she was responsible for the purchasing, delivery, and quality of mental health and substance use disorder services for adult and child Medicaid beneficiaries through fee for service, integrated managed care plans and specialty behavioral health organizations. Additionally, Ms. Fields was responsible for the service design and implementation of best practice services for children and youth under the Rosie D. EPSDT lawsuit.