FAQ’s
Q: What is the Integrated Care DC Program?
A: The Integrated Care DC program is a five-year technical assistance program aimed to facilitate individualized technical assistance and training/coaching to support Medicaid providers’ efforts to provide whole-person care by integrating care for physical, behavioral health, and SUD conditions of Medicaid beneficiaries.
The goal is to improve care and patient outcomes within three practice transformation core competencies:
- Delivering person-centered care across the care continuum
- Using data and population health analytics
- Engaging leadership to support person-centered, value-based care
Q: Who can participate?
A: All DC Medicaid enrolled providers are eligible to participate in the program. There are various activities and learning opportunities from which to choose.
Individual practice coaching is available for a subset of interested providers who must complete a brief application and commit to participating. Overall technical assistance (TA) focuses on serving the practice transformation needs of seven priority groups for the Integrated Care DC program:
- Health Home providers (My Health GPS and My DC Health Home)
- Department of Behavioral Health providers
- Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Freestanding mental health providers
- Long-term services and supports providers, including home health agencies
- Certified or waivered medications for addiction treatment (MAT) providers, including methadone providers, and
- Specialty providers
Q: Who should participate within our practice or agency? Who is the intended audience?
A: This five-year program has TA that is intended for various members of your team. Some material focuses on foundational concepts that are applicable to everyone, such as combatting stigma. Other topics are more appropriate for providers, such as best practices for prescribing MAT.
HMA subject matter experts provide TA to your leadership, clinicians and care teams, or to other members of your practices and agencies who are all engaged in improving integrated care.
Q: What type of technical assistance is available? How can I participate?
A: We are offering several options for participation, included in the list below. You can choose more than one option below.
- Access the Integrated Care DC program website for program-wide announcements, evidence-based resources, and tools.
- Engage in monthly virtual learning sessions and webinars to learn and share best practices with other providers and partners.
- Enroll in individual practice coaching for provider teams, including customized support from an HMA coach. Interested providers must complete a brief application and commit to participating in individualized coaching over a minimum one-year period to work toward practice transformation goals.
Please complete the sign-up form for your practice on the Integrated Care DC program website (www.integratedcaredc.com) to indicate your preferences.
Q: What are some of the session topics?
A: Improving whole-person care covers a wide variety of topics. Your interest in different TA topics will vary depending on your current scope of practice and on your specific goals. Individual practice coaching will be tailored based on these factors. This information will be announced and continuously updated on the Integrated Care DC program website. Some sample topics include the following:
- Addressing Stigma
- Evidence-based Practices for SUD/OUD
- Screening, Brief Intervention & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Health Equity
- Telehealth & eConsult Implementation Strategies
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Value-Based Purchasing Strategies
- Integrating IT into Workflow
- Respectful and Culturally Informed Care
- ASAM Levels of Care
Q: What are the benefits of participating?
A: Integrated whole-person care has been shown to improve patient outcomes and increase beneficiary and provider satisfaction. Participation in the Integrated Care DC program will help ensure that you are equipped with the infrastructure and resources to better manage patients with complex conditions and to prepare your practice for MCO contracts or value-based payment arrangements.
Q: Who is providing the individual practice coaching and webinars
A: Individual practice coaching and webinars are provided by Health Management Associates (HMA), an independent, national research and consulting firm specializing in publicly funded healthcare and human services policy, programs, financing, and evaluation. HMA coaches include primary care, psychiatric, addiction, and behavioral health clinicians with deep expertise in integrated care models.
For more information about HMA, please visit healthmanagement.com.
Q: When does the Integrated Care DC program start? When does it end?
A: The Integrated Care DC program started in January 2021 and ends in August 2025. Technical assistance and learning collaboratives will be available continuously during this time.
Practices requesting individual practice coaching are asked to commit for a minimum of one year. Phase 1 coaching started in February 2021. We anticipate that new application periods will open each year from August-October, starting in 2021. Please see www.integratedcaredc.com for the most accurate application timeline information.
Q: Is there a limit on the number or type of providers who can participate?
A: There are no limits on the number or types of providers who can participate in the Integrated Care DC program Virtual Learning Community website or virtual learning sessions and webinars. There are a limited of spots for providers to receive individual practice coaching each year. All providers will have access to the virtual webinars and TA resources, even if not participating in individual practice coaching activities.
If your practice misses the enrollment period or slots are full for the latest phase of individual practice coaching, you will have the option to participate in future TA phases. Please see www.integratedcaredc.com for more information.
Q: Is there a cost for participation?
A: No, there is no charge for participation. The Integrated Care DC program is managed by the DC Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) in partnership with the DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH). This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $4,616,075.00 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, or an endorsement by, CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
Additionally, learning sessions that may be eligible for CME or other educational credit will be available at no charge to attendees.
Q: Is technical assistance delivered virtually or onsite?
A: All Integrated Care DC program events will occur in alignment with the current public health recommendations. At this time, all sessions are scheduled to be virtual. Watch the Integrated Care DC program website for the most up-to-date information concerning times and locations of sessions.
Q: Where can I go to find out more about the Integrated Care DC Program?
A: If you are interested in enrolling in any of the TA elements, please complete the signup form on the website. If you have general questions, please contact support@integratedcaredc.com.
