Southeast Kansas residents who receive medical care though the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) will soon need to choose who provides that care. If they fail to make a choice, a health care provider will be chosen for them.

Two Medicaid managed care programs, HealthConnect and PrimeCare Kansas, will begin March 1 in the 11-county Southeast Kansas area. Medicaid is the government health program serving low-income and disabled people. Managed care is a form of health plan that asks patients to choose a single primary care provider such as a doctor or an organization such as a clinic. Using a single provider helps emphasize prevention and a reduction in unnecessary treatment and high costs.

Counties included in the March 1 start-up for Medicaid Managed Care include Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson.

Beginning January 20, enrollment packets for managed care will be mailed to Medicaid beneficiaries in the 11 counties. Enrollment begins January 22 and ends February 22. A series of information and enrollment meetings will be held in the 11 counties during the month of enrollment. (A meeting list is attached.)

Medicaid beneficiaries who fail to make a choice of a primary care provider will have one chosen for them.

The goal of managed care is to improve the quality, access to, and cost-effectiveness of health care provided through Medicaid.

Under a managed care system, patients choose a primary care provider who becomes their case manager for health care. A primary care provider could be a doctor, a clinic, or an advanced registered nurse practitioner. The primary care provider has agreed to be part of the managed care system and provide care for a certain number of Medicaid patients. For the patient, the primary care provider provides all preventive and primary medical services and refers the patient to specialists when needed.

The packets mailed to Medicaid beneficiaries will contain information about the managed care programs and an enrollment card. The packets will also provide a list of times and places for information meetings.

Persons receiving health care through Medicaid eligible for the managed care programs may enroll in three ways:

*by mailing the enrollment card they receive with the packet;

*by calling toll-free 1-800-766-9012; or

*by attending an information meeting and signing up then.

Many Medicaid beneficiaries in the 11 counties in Southeast Kansas will have a choice between enrolling in the HealthConnect or PrimeCare Kansas managed care plan. These include people in the Temporaty Assistance for Families program (the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children program) and the Poverty Level Women and Children (PLE) program.

Beneficiaries in the Supplimental Security Income (SSI) and the General Assistance (GA) programs need to enroll in HealthConnect.

Medicaid beneficiaries in all 11 counties will be eligible for the HealthConnect program, which is a primary

PrimeCare Kansas will be available in Anderson, Crawford, Labette, Neosho and Wilson counties through the HMO Horizon Health Plan.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001