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News Release

HHS APPROVES NEW SERVICES FOR INDIANA
MEDICAID ENROLLEES WITH CHRONIC DISEASES

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced approval of an Indiana plan to provide greater Medicaid benefits to that state's citizens with chronic diseases.

The Coordinated Care Management (CCM) program is expected to help 26,000 enrollees who are already in the state's Hoosier Healthwise Medicaid waiver program. Today's approval will allow the state to offer special, targeted services to enrollees with diabetes, chronic heart failure and asthma as well as those enrollees whose health care costs place them in the top 10 percent of program expenditures.

"Helping people with chronic diseases manage those diseases more effectively not only will save money for the state's Medicaid program, but will provide a better quality of life for those people," Secretary Thompson said.

Once enrolled in the CCM program, the enrollee will work with a nurse care manager to develop a treatment plan to maximize control over the disease process. High risk enrollees will receive intensive, one-on-one nurse care management. Those with less intensive conditions will work by telephone with their nurse managers. Enrollment in the disease management program is voluntary. Enrollees in the program will receive regular medical assessments, education about their diseases, dietary information that can help manage chronic diseases as well as instructions on how to manage their own care.

With today's approval, the state hopes to hire 80 new nurse care managers over the next two years.

"Disease management is an exciting opportunity to significantly improve the care delivered to Medicaid beneficiaries," said Tom Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "No group can be better served by this level of care than the vulnerable populations on Medicaid."

Disease management services is a top priority of the Bush Administration and the Medicaid agency's efforts closely mirror efforts being made by Medicare, which recently announced demonstrations to serve Medicare enrollees with chronic diseases. HHS is seeking demonstrations that will tailor health plans exclusively to beneficiaries with conditions such as stroke, congestive heart disease and diabetes.

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Last Revised: June 2, 2003