HHC received more than $1.7 million from the New York State Health Department this month to fund a Chronic Illness Demonstration Project (CIDP) for chronically ill patients at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn, Elmhurst Hospital in Queens and Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. Recognizing that 75% of the state's $46 billion Medicaid budget funds care for roughly 20% of the state's Medicaid patients, the Health Department engaged six health systems across the state to examine and develop ways to improve healthcare quality and clinical outcomes while reducing cost of care. Many of these patients have multiple chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma. They may also have a history of mental illness, alcoholism or chemical dependency.

"We must help these patients manage their care, despite its medical complexity, to improve their health and save taxpayer dollars on New York Medicaid," said State Health Commissioner Richard R. Daines, M.D.

The HHC project will create a specialized Care Management Team at each of the participating hospitals to address the multiple medical and social needs of the program participants. Patients will be referred for specialist care within the HHC system and care managers will collaborate with community-based organizations and community doctors to ensure that patients receive comprehensive and coordinated outpatient care. Health systems that reduce costs and improve health outcomes in the 2nd and 3rd year of the project will be eligible to receive additional funding from the State's $6 million incentive pool.

January 2009