HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 4

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010

INTRODUCED BY

Danice Picraux and Dede Feldman

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

SUPPORTING THE INCLUSION OF CONTRACT SPECIFICATIONS IN MEDICAID CONTRACTS TO FUND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL HOMES AND URGING AN EXPANSION OF THE MEDICAL HOME MODEL TO INCLUDE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, TELEHEALTH, HOME HEALTH CARE, NURSE PRACTITIONER AND PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT MODELS.

     WHEREAS, House Bill 710, introduced in the first session of the forty-ninth legislature, passed and was signed into law on April 7, 2009; and

     WHEREAS, this law calls for the human services department to promote and, if practicable, implement a medical home program; and

     WHEREAS, the human services department testified to the interim legislative health and human services committee that the contracts with the managed care organizations providing medicaid physical health services have been modified to require the development and implementation of medical homes on a pilot basis; and

     WHEREAS, an ad hoc committee consisting of physicians and representatives of managed care organizations and the human services department has been meeting to determine the best approach for implementation of medical homes in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, as defined in statute, a medical home is an integrated care management model that emphasizes primary medical care that is continuous, comprehensive, coordinated, accessible, compassionate and culturally appropriate; and

     WHEREAS, medical home demonstration projects are emerging in nearly every state with a broad base of support from employers, insurers and state and federal agencies; and

     WHEREAS, medical home models of care show promise for long-term cost containment, especially with the population of people with chronic conditions in need of ongoing, expensive medical interventions; and

     WHEREAS, a broader vision for implementation of medical homes could encompass behavioral health, telehealth, home health care, nurse practitioners and physician assistants serving as the central point for integration and coordination of care; and

     WHEREAS, in a state as rural as New Mexico with a critical shortage of primary care physicians, other practitioners besides physicians may be of value in establishing and implementing medical homes;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the human services department be supported in the inclusion of contract specifications in medicaid contracts to fund the establishment of medical homes and be urged to expand the medical home model to include behavioral health, home health care, nursing and physician assistant models; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that existing examples of medical homes, such as primary care clinics and health centers operating as health commons, behavioral health clinical homes and private and group practice primary care practices that have pursued certification as a medical home, be encouraged to participate in the pilot medical home project and be supported to continue to develop medical homes; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the human services department be requested to include contract specifications to fund the development and implementation of medical homes in the contract for the behavioral health single point of entry and the coordination of long-term services contracts; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the human services department be requested to track the cost-effectiveness of the pilot medical homes as they are implemented and report its findings to the interim legislative health and human services committee by November 2010; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the human services department, the medical assistance division of the human services department, the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative and the managed care organization that contracts with the human services department.

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