Alabama Medicaid has achieved its first official milestone toward the establishment of regional care organizations in the state with the establishment of five regional service areas on September 17.

The regions were designated following several months of discussions with providers, recipients and others. The map and the required state Administrative Code changes were submitted on June 28. Public input on the new map was received at a public hearing held on July 15 and additional comments were received by the Agency through August 2. State law required that the districts be in place by October 1, 2013.

The final map had two changes: One change moved Chilton County into Region B which includes Birmingham, Anniston and Gadsden, and the other change moved Covington County into Region D which includes Montgomery and Dothan, according to State Health Officer Dr. Donald Williamson, who is leading the Medicaid transformation effort.

“We determined early on that the regions not only had to be actuarially sound, but also that they should be drawn in a manner that recognizes existing referral patterns and that keeps various health systems together when possible,” he said. “After considering the input we received and evaluating the proposed regions based on our requirements, we believe we have met those goals with this map.”