According to Ken Jones, CEO of Eastpointe, 2015 has been a successful year for the managed care organization. Eastpointe is a managed care organization for behavioral health in Bladen and 11 other North Carolina counties.
Jones addressed the Bladen County Board of Commissioners on behalf of Eastpointe, Monday night saying, “I want to give some updates on where we have been, where we are, and where we want to go.”
According to Jones, Eastpointe had 444 admissions for service in Bladen County in the past year. Mental health services were provided to 79% of those Bladen County admissions, 9% were admissions for substance abuse services, and 12% were intellectual disabled service admissions. A total of 1,500 persons were served in Bladen County in the past fiscal year according to Jones’ report.
The good news Jones reported was Eastpointe is using $9.3 million of savings to continue services as budgeted in the pervious year due to the reduction in state single stream funding. In addition to the savings, Eastpointe received $547, 000 in grant funds to cover the cost of two indigent care inpatient beds at Southeastern Regional Medical Center.
Jones also reported, Eastpointe is in the process of developing a county reinvestment plan with savings. Eastpointe’s budget was $300 million with a fund balance of $36 million and a profit of $16 million according to Jones. He said, “We are looking for ways to re-invest some of these funds we have created back into the communities.”
Commissioner Charles Peterson asked Jones if Eastpointe could assist Cape Fear Valley Hospital in Bladen County with indigent care funding, if more educational classes and seminars about Eastpointe services could be brought back to the local area, and how many people in Bladen County are employed by Eastpointe.
Jones did promise to get back to the commissioners with answers to the questions they had and reported Eastpointe does employ 318 people, but he didn’t know how many of those people are from Bladen County.
Jones did say that Eastpointe is currently assessing the gaps and needs in the field and working on providing better service.
One goal to meet needs Jones mentioned was to have a walk-in clinic opened Monday through Friday from 8 am until 5 pm in Bladen County. Currently, Monarch on Peanut Plant Road in Elizabethtown does accept walk-ins, however, they are not open to meet the needs according to Jones.
Legislative changes Jones reported were that legislative decisions made in September 2015 moves North Carolina toward managing total care for Medicaid recipients, which means, physical health along with behavioral and mental health will be managed for Medicaid patients.
According to Jones, legislation instructs the new Health Care Department to contract with up to three managed care organizations to manage total care for North Carolina, and there will be up to 10 Provider Led Entities operating in up to six different regions.
Private MCO’s such as Magellan, Cigna, and Value Options, along with Provider Led Entities (PLE) will be providing total care management according to Jones report.
Jones said, Eastpointe is in the planning stages now to see where they fit in to the total care management legislation. Options Jones listed was Eastpointe subcontracting with an MCO or a PLE to manage services for individuals with certain diagnosis, or the state contracts with Eastpointe to manage total care for the specialty population.
Data from Jones report proves managed health care saves money, and Eastpointe wants to continue to save North Carolina money while re-investing in and growing their services.
If you or someone you know needs assistance with Mental Health call 800-913-6109.
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