Fully Integrated Duals Advantage (FIDA) Update
DOH Webinar for LeadingAge NY members
The Department of Health (DOH) conducted a 90-minute educational program on the Fully Integrated Duals Advantage (FIDA) demonstration program for LeadingAge NY members on Sept. 24. For those who might not have been able to join us, DOH has provided us with their PowerPoint presentation. The presentation covered:
- Eligibility and enrollment;
- The Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) process;
- Transition of care; and
- Important aspects of the three-way contract impacting participating providers.
LeadingAge NY appreciates DOH providing the latest information on FIDA to our members. FIDA is on schedule to begin Jan. 1, but DOH encourages members to continue to submit questions to FIDA@health.ny.gov.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report on Disabled Duals
According to the latest GAO report just released today, in 2009, the Medicare and Medicaid programs spent an estimated $103 billion on disabled dual-eligible beneficiaries—those individuals who are disabled, under age 65, and qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Recently, Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have emphasized benefit integration for all dual-eligible beneficiaries—both disabled and aged—including beginning a financial alignment demonstration, which CMS expects will improve care and reduce program spending and as a result, GAO was asked to provide insights for potentially improving care to duals at the same time as reducing costs.
In the report, the overall findings were that CMS's expectations regarding the extent to which integration of benefits will produce savings through lower use of costly Medicare services may be optimistic.
Contact: Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871