Policy experts from the U.S. Virgin Islands are attending the Medicaid Enterprises System Conference this week in Charleston, S.C., sharing with the country their experiences in implementing a Medicaid partnership, according to a news release issued Thursday from Government House.
According to the release, the V.I. delegation is also learning about new technologies that will enhance administration of social welfare programs in the territory.
On Wednesday, Human Services Commissioner Christopher Finch led a team that discussed the challenges, successes and benefits of the territory’s integration into West Virginia’s Medicaid Management Information System, along with representatives of the West Virginia Department of Health and the system’s vendor, Molina Medicaid Solutions.
The partnership with West Virginia was discussed as part of a panel called Medicaid Innovations Interstate MMIS Collaboration. Of the three groups featured in that panel, the territory’s system, which went live Aug. 1, was the furthest along.
The partnership is unique because its two members are geographically distant from each other, demonstrating the technology does not require any kind of geographic proximity, Finch said.
The presentation was well-received, Finch said, with attendees impressed “that we did our design, development and implementation phase in about 10 months, which was almost an unheard of speed.”
Over the course of the conference, the Virgin Islanders learned much about possibilities for expanding and integrating the system.
“We’ve really been concentrating on what the next steps are. The next major enhancement will be the ability to acquire an integrated eligibility and enrollment system,” Finch said.
Ultimately that will allow the system to incorporate social programs beyond Medicaid, such as food stamps, child care and maternity programs.
“The system could grow and be a major eligibility and enrollment program for financial assistance programs throughout the territory,” Finch said.
Virgin Islands officials have been talking to representatives of several states about a partnership to achieve such an upgrade based on the success of the experiment with West Virginia, according to Finch.
The conference also focused on the information technology aspects of Medicaid administration, with an emphasis on technologies necessary to implement the requirements of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
“There was a lot of innovation on display, and we learned a lot in our time there talking to vendors and other jurisdictions that have implemented new technologies," Finch said. "The conference focused on best practices, pitfalls to avoid and innovative ideas being experimented with in various states.”
