Medicaid Quality Management
Office of Medicaid Research Contracts and Evaluations (MRCE)

The mission of the Office of Medicaid Research Contracts and Evaluations (MRCE) is to advance Medicaid research, policy, and practice and enhance knowledge and understanding of the financing, organization, delivery, and outcomes of Medicaid health services. Its vision is to improve the health and quality of life for communities and Medicaid beneficiaries in Florida through evidence–based research and policy development. Some of the services that the MRCE office provides are:

1. Special research projects such as:

• Evaluation of Medicaid Reform
• The Florida Health Insurance Study Phase I-Comparing the 1999 and 2004 estimates and characteristics of the uninsured population in Florida and developing coverage options for uninsured Floridians
• The Florida Health Insurance Study Phase II-Preserving and Enhancing the Financial and Operational Viability of Florida’s Health Care Safety Net Through Data-Driven Policy Project
• Medicaid Undercount Experiment in Florida
• Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in Medicaid
• Certification of 2-1-1 call centers (First Call for Help)
• Performance Based Budgeting
• Evaluation of the Provider Service Networks
• Evaluation of Medicaid's Eligibility Determination Error Rate
• Evaluation of the Pre-Paid Mental Health Programs
• Evaluation of the Statewide Inpatient Psychiatric Program (SIPP)
• A Study of Medicaid-Funded School-Based Behavioral Health Services
• Medicaid Actuarial Services
• Evaluation of the Healthy Start Coalition
• Evaluation of the Medicaid Prepaid Dental Health Program in Miami-Dade County

2. Connecting Medicaid administrators and policymakers to quality health information through the translation of advanced Medicaid health services research;
3. Development and management of Medicaid research/evaluation contracts;
4. Data extraction, compilation, analysis and interpretation, and modeling;
5. Prepare legislative reports and analyses;
6. Maintain current working knowledge of Medicaid and other health policy issues on all levels of government (local, state and federal);
7. Develop policy briefs and reports to inform management /public on issues of importance;
8. Identify best practices models for improving the efficacy of the Medicaid service delivery system and determine the feasibility to implement such models or hybrids;
9. Review, advise and provide technical assistance on AHCA products (methodology, reports, contracts, etc.) with research and policy implications for the Medicaid program and Florida’s health care system;
10. Support other Medicaid Bureaus with research design, implementation, analysis of findings and linking research findings to planning options and recommendations;
11. Translating Medicaid research findings into policy options for policymakers;
12. Translating Medicaid Research findings for the Media;
13. Pursue grant opportunities at all levels to support Medicaid Research activities that develop efficiencies and cost effectiveness in the Medicaid delivery service system;
14. Complete ad hoc requests related to the MRCE office;
15. Correspondence on community health resources, alternate care, and health information.

Staff on the MRCE team are:

Clifford Schmidt, M.P.A.
AHCA Administrator

Danni Atkins
Government Analyst II

Bruce Congleton
Government Analyst II

Kimberly Marshall
OPS Research Assistant

Susan McNamara, M.S.
Government Analyst II

Kay Watson
Administrative Secretary

Regina Wiggins, MPH
Government Analyst II

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