The Affordable Care Act(ACA) will affect most health, mental, social, and human service organizations. Agencies should get involved in community service planning.
You should review the state's plans to implement the ACA if you provide services that offer direct mental or physical health care, support services, and skill-building.
As part of the Affordable Care Act’s implementation services, most states have created new Health Information Exchanges. The information exchanges and states set the data requirements.
Many agencies now handle patient care electronically, as opposed to paper filing systems. They also collect and report data about diagnosis codes, care received, quality benchmarks, and so forth.
Community providers often need to buy new software and train staff. The costs can be quite high. These policies will need to regulate the activities and provide funding for transition.
This will ensure a smooth transition and maintain strong community systems. Clear accountability requirements and caps on profits should be imposed. Mandates for maintaining service quality and levels of service should also be set.
It is important that community providers are paid promptly. Managed Care Organization (MCO) will make substantial profits and should bear the majority of the costs of transition, training, technical assistance, and building data systems.
Your agency and the providers you work with should collaborate to help shape your state's policies regarding which services will be covered.
Look at what community agencies need and make sure that federal and state transition funding covers some training costs and some data and information system costs.
