The agency says the puts patients first, improves whole person care, ensures a more predictable Medicaid budget, and builds on what already works for North Carolina.

 

"We have an obligation - an obligation we have willingly accepted as a state - to help those in need. And we must, at the same time, be good stewards of taxpayer resources," said DHHS Secretary Aldona Z. Wos, M.D, in a news release. "We believe this Medicaid reform plan is responsive to both those obligations."

 

The plan proposes that providers collaborate through accountable care organizations (ACOs), a model that allows physicians and other providers who care for patients to take control of improving quality and healthy outcomes.

 

"When ACOs share in the savings or losses based on quality measures, everyone has a vested interest in making Medicaid a success," said Secretary Wos in the statement. "We expect the ACO model to bend the cost curve by approximately 2-3 percent, which would mean hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for the state."

 

The N.C. Medicaid program currently serves about 1.8 million low-income parents, children, seniors and people with disabilities and requires $13.5 billion a year to operate.

 

A copy of the plan can be found at http://www.ncdhhs.gov/pressrel/2014/DHHS_Medicaid_Reform_Legislative_Report-2014-03-17.pdf