NAMD 2019: A Focus on Partnerships

November 13, 2019

Categories: Thought Leadership

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Yesterday the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) kicked off its annual conference. When looking through the two-day agenda, you’ll see aspirational words like Advancing, Strengthening, Supporting and Partnering (with heavy emphasis on the latter). But what you will also see is a wide cadre of states giving real-world, implementable solutions to achieve common goals for quality care at sustainable costs for those most in need in our communities.

Take for example, Arizona Medicaid Director, Jami Snyder. In one of the first sessions, Snyder describes how their Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCS) program is tackling the state’s growing chronic homelessness and unsheltered population.

“The governor set a goal of decreasing the homeless population by 80 percent. AHCCCS collaborating in a way that allows us to move forward, including learning each other’s language, in order to successfully lower the rate of homelessness,” said Snyder.

NAMD 2019She went on to describe a web of partnerships that included Arizona Medicaid health plans, local public housing authorities, federal Housing and Urban Development support, the state’s department of economic security, Arizona State university, the Crisis Response Network and the United Way–each filling in a critical need to supply services, funding and housing permanency.

Most sessions of the conference featured the stories of those whose health and stability have been improved through these collaborative efforts. In Arizona, it was a timeline story of “Dave” who was found on the streets blinded with cataracts. Through information sharing, Dave was able to receive treatment for his high blood pressure, which led to two successful eye surgeries then transitional housing. It took less than nine months for Dave to find permanent housing and a new outlook on life.

What was apparent in day one of NAMD, is that all states recognize that the power to change lives rests on their ability to share information across programs and agencies. At CNSI, we recognize the role in which technology plays in facilitating that sharing. Whether its creating a partnership between two states to leverage the same Medicaid system or using cloud technology to increase interoperability across business functions, we are proud to support our clients in improving health outcomes for all the “Daves” in the US. Thank you NAMD for providing this platform for these partnerships to flourish.