Minnesota Senior Health Options' (MSHO) Program Responds to the Service Barriers that Occur in a Rural Setting

Summary: Beyond the issues one might expect from serving the dual eligible population, the Minnesota Senior Health Options' (MSHO) program also addresses the service barriers that occur in a rural setting. Sarah Keenan, clinical liaison with Medica, described how MSHO responds to these service issues and how the inevitable breakdowns during care transitions are managed through MSHO's "care coordination" efforts, which ensure communication between providers and follow a patient seamlessly through transitions of care. The flexibility inherent in MassHealth's Senior Care Options model empowers providers to offer on-site and community-based care to enrollees, improves the level of service offered to diverse populations and offers participants a seamless transition to the Medicare part D pharmacy benefits. Keenan and Diane Flanders, director of coordinated care systems for MassHealth, described how to create a coordinated care management approach for dual eligibles during a February 14th audio conference, Managing Transitions to Care for the Dually Eligible Medicare and Medicaid Patient.