Brazos Valley area submits Medicaid waiver plan

Following federal approval for a waiver that allows Texas to provide cost-saving Medicaid improvements, the Texas A&M Health Science Center has taken a leading role in two of the state’s new regional healthcare partnerships (RHPs)– one in Central Texas, the other in the Brazos Valley area. Each partnership includes a regional health care plan that incorporates regional health assessments, participating local public entities, identification of hospitals receiving incentives and their yearly performance measures, and incentive projects such as infrastructure development, program innovation and redesign, quality improvements and population-focused improvements.

A Nov. 14 meeting was held at the Brazos Valley Council of Governments, where the plan for RHP 17 – Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Montgomery, Robertson, Walker and Washington counties – was signed and certified, then submitted to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for formal review and approval.

From left, front row, seated: Penny Wilson, director of health care services, Montgomery County Hospital District; Hon. Betty Shiflett, county judge, Grimes County; Sally Nelson, chief executive officer, Huntsville Memorial Hospital; Robert Reed, director of mental health services, MHMR Authority of Brazos Valley.

Middle row, standing: Lynn Yeager, executive director, Brazos Maternal & Child Health Clinic; Nicole Rogers, executive director, Montgomery County Health Information Exchange; Randy Johnson, chief executive officer, Montgomery County Hospital District, and executive director, Montgomery County Public Health District; Shayna Spurlin, senior program coordinator, Texas A&M Health Science Center (RHP 17 anchor team); Hailey Hale, community health resources coordinator, Huntsville Memorial Hospital; Robert R. Hardy, chairman, Walker County Hospital District; Dr. Timothy Elliott, professor, Texas A&M University; Gentry Woodard, regional director of government and community affairs, Scott & White Health System; Bill Kelly, executive director, MHMR Authority of Brazos Valley.

Back row, standing: Hon. Phillip Grisham, Precinct 2 county commissioner, Madison County; Tim Ottinger, vice president of community relations, St. Joseph Regional Health Center; Dr. James Alexander, treasurer, Burleson County Hospital District; Tom Holt, chief financial officer, Conroe Regional Medical Center; Dr. Craig Blakely, dean, Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health; Hon. John Brieden, county judge, Washington County; Hon. Duane Peters, county judge, Brazos County; Jack Buckley, executive in residence, Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health (RHP 17 anchor team).