News

Alabama Medicaid receives “No Wrong Door” planning grant

10/14/2014

Accessing long term care services often means visiting a myriad of places and people to learn about and obtain services. Agency officials hope a new grant awarded to the Alabama Medicaid Agency will make it possible for the state to design a new, unified system that will make it easier for people of all ages, disabilities and income levels to learn about and access the services and supports they need.

The Agency was notified on September 26 that its application for a “No Wrong Door” planning grant was approved. The $217,401 grant will be used to create a three-year strategic plan to transform multiple access points and functions into a single, statewide system. The effort is funded as a joint initiative of the Administration on Community Living (ACL), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

“Historically, information on long term care services and supports has been housed within the aging community which is less visible and accessible to people of any age with disabilities,” said Ginger Wettingfeld, Gateway to Community Living Project Director.  “We hope to build on the considerable efforts and successes of Alabama’s Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) and the ‘lessons learned’ along the way.” The ADRC is operated by the Alabama Department of Senior Services.

Wettingfeld explained that Medicaid and ADSS have already been exploring opportunities to collaboratively enhance the ADRC model in Alabama through the Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration. On an even larger stage, the state has recently been examining possibilities for improving efficiencies and effectiveness across its health and human services, through enhanced coordination, she said. For example, Wettingfeld hopes that work now underway on the Alabama CARES project, a coordinated eligibility system to be shared by Medicaid, the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Alabama Department of Human Resources, can be integrated into the updated system.

“This grant comes at an opportune time because we will not only be able to build on a number of efforts that are already underway but we will have the resources to determine how to tie it all together and better serve Alabama citizens in need of services,” she explained.

In addition to Medicaid, other state agencies to be involved in the project include the Alabama Department of Senior Services, the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services, and the Alabama Department of Mental Health. Consumers, providers and advocacy organizations will be integrally involved in the planning process as well.