Three organizations have joined forces to lead the transformation of health care and other services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) across New York State.
The three entities–Advance Care Alliance, LIFEPlan, and Person Centered Services–currently coordinate care for approximately 65,000 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, covering all 62 counties in the State. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a person-centered, comprehensive healthcare solution to expand healthcare and service options for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
With a strong partnership that reaches every corner of the State, the collaboration will leverage the group’s size, expertise, and geographical reach to expand healthcare choices, incentivize and train providers, increase preventative care, and ultimately improve outcomes.
It will use the group’s long history of serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and combine it with a world-class healthcare network to help people live fully inclusive lives in their communities and offer individuals and families an improved quality of life.
According to the CEOs from all three entities, the collaboration will ensure that proven, experienced Care Coordination Organizations in every part of the State drive the future of care and that individuals and families are offered more choices while being empowered to make their own healthcare decisions. The partnership comes in the wake of New York’s announced transformation plan that includes a transition to Medicaid-managed care.
The partners represent the largest network of IDD service providers in New York, with over 200 affiliated non-profit agencies. The three organizations combined employ over 2,000 dedicated care managers serving 65,000 people, with offices and a significant presence in every region of the State. This means they can offer non-profit values with best-in-class services, ensuring a move to managed care still reflects the values of the community being served.
The first step in the State’s Office for People With Developmental Disabilities’ restructuring of the system came on July 1, 2018, when it broadened the care coordination model to a Health Home system, centering all support services in one place through the creation of Care Coordination Organizations (CCOs).
All three entities in the new partnership are CCOs, already providing person-centered care management, planning, and coordination explicitly tailored to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“I’m very excited to learn that providers I know and am comfortable with are working together to expand and improve services and to lead change,” said Fran Burnham, the mother of an adult with developmental disabilities. “This feels like the best-case scenario to keep consistency in my daughter’s daily life, which she needs, but also help improve the care we receive.”
The new partnership will ensure that experienced Care Coordination organizations drive the formation of the State’s required provider-led Specialized IDD Plans (SIPs).
Advance Care Alliance coordinates care for people in 10 counties in the downstate area. Person Centered Services currently reaches 18 counties in the State’s western region, and LIFEPlan CCO NY serves individuals in 38 counties across the northern, central, and southern parts of the State and the Hudson Valley.
A note from LIFEPlan CEO, Nick Cappoletti
Dear LIFEPlan Members and Families:
As you know, the delivery of Medicaid services in New York State for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is changing quickly. OPWDD’s first step toward managed care was the new creation of Care Coordination Organizations like ours.
As OPWDD holds public forums this week to begin rolling out its plans for managed care, LIFEPlan CCO NY is pleased to announce that our organization has entered into a meaningful partnership that positions us as leading the future model of care.
Today, we are announcing to the press and all of our stakeholders that LIFEPlan CCO NY is partnering with two other CCOs, Advanced Care Alliance (ACA) and Person Centered Services, to lead the transformation of health care and other services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across New York State.
Combined, our three organizations coordinate care for approximately 65,000 members, covering all 62 counties in the State. We were founded by providers with a long history of serving those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. We understand the needs of our Members and their families and believe we are best to lead New York State’s efforts to incorporate the best managed care into our services. We want to expand your choice of healthcare services, providers, and options- not limit them. We want you to continue receiving all the services you receive today and enhance your choice of medical, dental, behavioral health, and community-based providers. We want to ensure that your services are coordinated by organizations vested in your communities, not by organizations or corporations unfamiliar with you or your unique needs.
The care that we provide you today is NOT changing. We wanted you to have the exciting news immediately, but this is a vision and plan for several years into the future and one that we’re entering to ensure the best in services and care for you and your family members.
Thank you for choosing LIFEPlan.