State Medicaid Plan – Mississippi

New statewide Medicaid plan wins praise, By Gary Pettus, January 14, 2011, Jackson Clarion-Ledger: “A Medicaid patient for nearly three years, Dorathy Shirley can tick off a list of complaints that reads like a medical dictionary. Asthma, back pain, bleeding ulcers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, degenerative joint disease, diabetes, glaucoma, high blood pressure and so on. ‘I’m always in pain,’ said Shirley, 62, of Jackson. Aggravating her distress are her out-of-pocket payments for medications normally too numerous to be covered by Medicaid, including three that bleed her of more than $100 a month, each. But on Jan. 1 relief arrived with the debut of a new statewide plan meant to improve the health of thousands of Mississippi’s most vulnerable Medicaid patients while saving the state money. The state Division of Medicaid calls it the Mississippi Coordinated Access Network, or MississippiCAN, but Shirley calls it a ‘blessing’ because it pays for more of her medicine. ‘I believe it will be a good thing,’ she said, ‘and it keeps you kind of motivated.’ Under this managed-care system, the motivation is furnished by an offer of gifts or other rewards to eligible recipients already on Medicaid, the federal-state medical coverage program for low-income residents and others. The rewards are reserved for those who undergo certain health screenings, lead healthier lives and/or see their primary-care doctor soon after signing on…”