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MDCH Schedules Sixth Public Input Forum on Integrated Care Demonstration

For Immediate Release: September 15, 2014

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) will be hosting the sixth public input forum on the state’s plan to integrate care for individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid on October 14, 2014, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Suites in downtown Kalamazoo. The MI Health Link Forum will be held in the Arcadia Ballroom from 10 a.m. to noon, and MDCH will provide a conference line for interested stakeholders to participate by phone.

Through these forums, MDCH plans to share information about the status of the project, as well as receive feedback throughout the implementation process from people who are dually eligible, their families, providers, and other interested organizations. The forums are organized on a quarterly basis and locations rotate amongst four regions of the state throughout the demonstration period.

Michigan’s Integrated Care Demonstration seeks to improve quality and access to care by more effectively aligning Medicare and Medicaid services and bridging the divide between physical health, long term care, and behavioral health systems. The demonstration will take a person-centered approach in all aspects of the new care system, and will focus on care coordination, providing access to home and community-based services, ensuring continuity of care during the transition to the new system, and supporting self-determination and choice for individuals. The demonstration will initially operate for three years.

The demonstration will be launched in four regions of the state: the entire Upper Peninsula; a Southwest region consisting of the following counties: Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren; Macomb as a single county region; and Wayne as a single county region. Enrollment will be phased-in across the regions with services starting in January 2015. Education, outreach, and enrollment activities will occur prior to then.

For directions to the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Suites, information about participating by phone, or other information about the quarterly forums, visit http://www.michigan.gov/mihealthlink.

For American Sign Language interpreting services, or other accommodations at the forum, contact the Integrated Care Division at (517) 241-4293 or INTEGRATEDCARE@michigan.gov.

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