Goal 6: Workforce Development & Infrastructure

Task 6.1: Increase the number of physical health care, allied professionals and oral health workers

• Consider recommendations for malpractice insurance relief from SM7 task force.

• Implement interim midwives provider agreement and voucher program via Salud! managed care organizations so they can continue to serve pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid who choose midwife attended home deliveries.

Task 6.2: Enhance New Mexico’s behavioral health workforce

• Develop Consortium for Behavioral Health Training and Research (CBHTR) in conjunction with the Higher Education Department to increase workforce capacity and statewide ability to evaluate and research evidence-based and promising behavioral health clinical and administrative practices. Hire HED staff lead, develop structure and recruit for academic leader.

• Create a statewide plan for behavioral health research.

• Create and implement a plan for behavioral health workforce development training. Conduct at least two statewide trainings on evidence-based practices, e.g., comprehensive community support systems and one other.

• Implement remaining regulatory and program recommendations of the Behavioral Health Workgroup to simplify and streamline licensing and credentialing per Executive Order 04-062.

• Consider additional changes to licensing legislation to fully implement Executive Order and assist Native American practitioners to be licensed.

• Recruit and train behavioral health professionals with particular focus for those in rural and frontier areas.

• Fund staff at altSD, CYFD and NMCD with Transformation Grant funds to focus on behavioral health needs of seniors and persons leaving correctional and juvenile justice facilities (including jails).

• Complete staff hiring at HED, PED, HSD, DOH, CYFD, DDPC and other Collaborative agencies, using Transformation Grant funding, to work on aspects of the Collaborative initiatives.

• Create technical assistance capacity for local collaboratives to assist in their roles in planning and program

Task 6.3: Expand health care access in rural and underserved areas through telehealth Services

• Assist the Telehealth Commission by evaluating and integrating individual agency telehealth efforts.
• Implement behavioral health telehealth projects.
• Implement Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth providers.

Task 6.4: Expand health care for school-age children and youth through school-based health services

• A. Increase Medicaid funding to schools for services for more children (with individualized education programs).
• Increase Medicaid administrative claiming funds for schools.

Task 6.5: Provide "no wrong door" to state services through enterprise eligibility information technology and common resource directory capacity

• Plan and design an enterprise eligibility system that combines eligibility criteria from multiple state programs including Medicaid LTC programs within Aging and Disability Resource Center.
• Continue development of an integrated health and human services delivery system that replaces the ISD2 system.
• Design and begin development of a web-based EES portal allowing New Mexicans to access services through a common portal via the internet and to complete applications and determine eligibility for multiple programs on-line.
• Develop a strategic plan for an integrated social services architecture that allows interoperability across the social services enterprise programs and servers.
• Develop and implement an interagency data warehouse, starting with BH Collaborative data.
• Develop eligibility application/determination process for Medicaid long term care programs within Aging & Disability Resource Center.
• Identify software and functionality necessary to develop an enterprise eligibility system.
• Integrate the HHS resource information system with the common EES portal (statewide resource directory) for interagency and public use.
• Develop other web-based tools to enhance access to services.
• Enhance statewide 2-1-1 referral system through strengthened partnerships with local service providers.
• Expand electronic document management functionality.

Task 6.6: Administrative Effectiveness

• Provide access to all parties to request an administrative fair hearing where access to or services through these programs have been denied, reduced or terminated.
• Provide prompt administrative hearings with proper notification after being requested to allow all cases to be decided within required time frames, ensuring all parties are afforded proper due process.
• Issue recommendations and final decisions within required time frames on 95% of the cases, allowing for instances where the due process rights of the parties in the hearing out weigh the timeliness requirements.
• Review policies and procedures for informal resolution conferences that are conducted on all requests for administrative fair hearings to resolve issues in dispute through informal administrative processes more expeditiously where possible for effectiveness.
• Develop an OIG Statement of Principles.
• Develop quality standards for investigations and internal audits in accordance with acceptable standards established at minimum by the National Association of Inspectors General.
• Reduce number of audit adjustments and materiality of the adjustments.
• Increase percentage of member service calls in managed care answered within 30 seconds.
• Increase percentage of Helpdesk requests completed and resolved with a 90% or greater stratification rating.
• Improve efficiencies in central office and the field by meeting IT needs for hardware and software.
• Improve support for non-contracted databases.
• Continue to provide cultural diversity training to HSD field office staff throughout the state.
• Continue to reduce number of constituent complaints about customer service.
• Improve work efficiency, staff morale and retention by:
  • Assuring adequate funding to meet ISD2 needs;
  • Implementing ISD2 replacement system; and
  • Offering competitive salaries for field and central office staff.