Monday, December 3, 2012

Health and Hospitals Systems Board Meeting November 29, 2012



The meeting was called to order by Chairman David Carvalho at 7:40 am.  Michael Newman of AFSCME complained during the public comment period that the union was not notified of the need for additional staff once the Medicaid waiver was approved.

Board/Committee Reports: 
Quality and Patient Safety Committee chair Ed Michael congratulated staff on the overall positive finding by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH). He also reported on the development of a Quality Dashboard to focus the entire organization on “big dot” items needed in the coming year.  Heather O’Donnell, finance committee chair, reported that Automated Health Systems will facilitate the Medicaid waiver, an $8m contract.  Human Resources committee chair Quin Golden reported that hiring is moving forward, labor contracts have been approved.  Carvalho said “all resources of the county system will be brought to bear” on hiring.

Action Items:  
Dr. Raju said that hiring is moving forward quickly. The goal is to hire 500 FTEs into the system in the next 3 months, then 400 FTEs in the 4 months after that.  With respect to revenue collection, “Jumpstarting is so vital, we cannot fall back on our current collection process.”  Carvalho explained that the 3-year contracts with temp workers have a cancellation feature.  The county does not have to spend all the funds. If FTEs can come on earlier, the county can release temps, but the key is BILLING.  Carvalho pointed out that coders are not certified and have low accuracy, and that skilled coders are critical now that Medicaid reimbursement is based on accurate codes for services provided. The Medicaid reimbursement rate was readjusted last July.  System Chief Financial Officer John Cookinham explained that reimbursement has focused on inpatients and needs now to focus on outpatients.  The county now has 120 days of revenue outstanding and is far short of $42m goal in patient revenue as it continues to serve 4,000 patients per day.  

The board recognized Dr. Michael Puisis, Chief Operating Officer of Cermak Clinic, for his 30 years of service to the county and for providing “excellent quality to the patient population.”

JCAH Consultant Roberta Fruth spoke of JCAH history going back to 1910, and how the organization partners with Centers of Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS).  JCAH was given “deeming” status in 1965 when the US government funded Medicare/Medicaid but did not have expertise to evaluate services they were funding. The board’s role is to assure patient safety and quality, and has ultimate oversight over licensed professionals.

Dr. Raju spoke of the impact of caring for patients who live outside the county, amounting to 7% of total system care/  The cost of this care is not billable.  He also mentioned the disproportionate amount of charity care provided by CCHHS as a whole, emphasizing that this burden should be shared.

Susan Greene, Interim Director of the Office of Managed Care and Clinical Tranformation, spoke about the implementation of CountyCare, which will provide services for the newly-eligible Medicaid recipients.  To be eligible patients must live in Cook County, be 19-64, have an income below 133% of poverty, not be eligible for state-plan Medicaid or be on Medicare, have a Social Security number, be a legal immigrant or US citizen.  The covered services mirror standard Medicaid and include hospital ER, inpatient services, drugs, lab, x-ray, hospice services, and dental services for 19-21 year olds.  Patients will have a “patient-centered medical home” at one of 13 selected Federally Qualified Health Centers and be linked to a pharmacy.

--Submitted by Linda Christenson

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