A Message From Secretary Holly BensonDear Medicaid Partner: Last year Governor Charlie Crist launched Accelerate Florida to speed up the expenditure of billions of dollars in approved construction and capital outlay projects and to identify ways to grow Florida’s businesses. In response, we launched our own AHCA-celerate Florida initiative which was designed to streamline the ways we do business with our licensees and providers and to reduce the regulatory costs to them. This year our AHCA-celerate team has been evaluating our business processes and finding ways to use Web and portal technologies to make it easier for our providers to work with us. A key element in this effort is the elimination of duplication of effort in the Agency’s work processes and data management. Our team is working on over 40 initiatives throughout the Agency to increase efficiency, eliminate duplication, and improve the way we work with you. At the same time, we are looking at statutory changes needed to reduce and streamline regulations. Better health care for all Floridians includes helping providers spend less time on paperwork and more time on patient care. We appreciate that you are committed to providing the best possible care to our neediest Floridians. While we may not be able to pay you more during these tight budget times, we will continue to work to cost you less. We are also challenging our staff to find new ways to save on operational costs. We launched the AHCA Challenge in August with a goal of reducing energy and supply costs across the Agency. Among other things, we will be measuring the impact of team efforts to reduce the use of paper by consolidating the use of printers and setting printer defaults to always use double-sided printing. Our buildings will compete to find new ways to reduce energy costs. In addition, we are looking for ways to allow you to submit documents to us electronically, and if you have suggestions I hope you will e-mail them to ahcasecretary@ahca.myflorida.com. And speaking of technology, we are home to the Florida Center for Health Information and Policy Analysis (Florida Center). The Governor has designated the Florida Center as the coordinating body for the health information technology stimulus dollars under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Florida Center is responsible for promoting the adoption of health information technology, including the electronic exchange of health information among providers, adoption of electronic health records, personal health records and e-prescribing among Florida’s provider community and consumers. Our team is working with stakeholders statewide to implement health information technology programs funded through ARRA. You can learn more about these resources by visiting the Agency’s Web site, www.FHIN.net. We are always looking for innovative ways to drive change in Florida’s health care system and looking for tools to make it easier to do business with us. We appreciate your suggestions, and as always, we are grateful for your commitment to providing quality health care to your patients who are on Medicaid. Sincerely,
All ProvidersUnderstanding Complaints/Grievances and Ways to Improve Enrollee Satisfaction Federal and state regulations for Medicaid managed care contracts differ from the regulations for commercial health plans. One major difference involves the handling of complaints/grievances. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) governing the complaint/grievance process is described in 42 CFR 438.400. States also have the option of applying additional state-specific requirements. For the full story... Web Portal Online Provider Enrollment Did you know that you can enroll in the Florida Medicaid program on the Web Portal? Enrollment is easy! The online Enrollment Wizard is a quick and efficient way for you to complete your application and track your application status. The wizard is available 24 hours per day, so you choose the time that is convenient for you. For the full story...
PhysiciansConsent for Sterilization Forms Federal regulations require both male and female recipients to give written consent prior to sterilization procedures being performed. To meet this requirement, the provider must submit with the claim a Consent for Sterilization form, HHS-687 (11/06), that has been signed by the Medicaid recipient. For the full story... Florida Newborn Screening Results (FNSR) Web site Florida Newborn Screening Program is proud to announce the Florida Newborn Screening Results (FNSR) Web site available to primary care physicians to access newborn screening results online. For the full story... Nursing HomesNursing Home Transition Initiative The Agency for Health Care Administration (Agency), the Department of Elder Affairs, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the Department of Health are working to identify Medicaid eligible nursing home residents 18 years of age or older who may be able to move to more independent community living settings. For the full story...
DentistsThe Medicaid adult dental services program provides medically-necessary, emergency dental procedures to alleviate pain or infection to eligible Medicaid recipients 21 years of age and older. Emergency dental care is limited to a problem focused evaluation, necessary radiographs to make a diagnosis, extraction, and drainage of an abscess. For the full story...
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In-State Physicians, Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, Chiropractors, Podiatrists,
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Child Health Check-Up (CHCUP)Critical Reminder to Child Health Check-Up Providers As licensed health care professionals, you are aware that performing a blood test for lead is a federal requirement at specific intervals during the “Child Health Check-Up” (CHCUP). This note is to remind you how important it is to document the blood tests you are performing in compliance with this federal mandate. For the full story... |
