Ark. set to roll out Medicaid changes in July

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — State officials say they’re on track for a July launch of an effort to change the way Arkansas’s Medicaid program pays for services.

Department of Human Services Director John Selig, state Medicaid Director Andy Allison and Surgeon General Joe Thompson on Thursday updated lawmakers on the state’s Medicaid payment reform initiative. The state plans on moving from a fee-for-service model to one where it pays for “episodes” of care rather than each individual treatment.

The state will begin rolling out the reforms in six areas in July.

The efforts are aimed at curbing the costs of the state’s Medicaid program. DHS has estimated Arkansas faces a shortfall of up to $400 million in the program starting in July 2013.

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