CCSI News and Updates
Anne L. Wilder
President
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Here’s a quick recap of this month’s news:
  • Check out a recent blog post on the New York State Trauma-Informed Network website from CCSI's Elizabeth Meeker, Vice President, Consulting Services, who helps put some recently released data on Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) into context.
  • The Monroe County Office of Mental Health (MCOMH) and CCSI partnered to create an information resource about ACEs featuring a unique local dataset, including important information on protective factors.
  • Francesca Tangredi, Manager of Strategic Analytics, shares her takeaways from attending this year’s Healthcare Analytics Summit in Salt Lake City, UT.
  • Learn more about 2020 health insurance premium increases and strategies your organization can take to help offset these costs.
  • Help get your organization on track to certify your compliance program by asking yourself these top 5 questions.
  • Get the latest from our Program Management Services Team.
Program Management Services
Based at customer locations, guided by the customer’s priorities and vision, and managed in partnership with CCSI, we provide the talent and infrastructure needed to plan, implement and operate programs successfully.
This month, we’re taking a deeper look at the types of assistance we offer through our Program Management Services area, from program modeling and management, to staffing talent and program infrastructure. We also highlight the Homeless Services Symposium 2019, where we hear from CCSI’s Ryan McIntosh, Manager, Homeless Services about coordinating programs and services to end homelessness.  
Rodney Corry, M.A., LMHC
Vice President, Program Management
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
What are CCSI’s Program Management Services?
CCSI supports our customers through three key service lines: Consulting, Program Management, and Business Management Services. Our Program Management Services Team partners with customers to provide the talent and infrastructure needed to deliver high quality programs and services across Upstate New York. This includes:
Get clarity on where you’re going.

Staff up quickly to meet your needs.

Get infrastructure support all in one place.

Access expertise in a variety of disciplines.

Follow the links below for some highlights from current programs and hear from some of our customers.


Coordinating Programs and Services to End Homelessness
CCSI was proud to be a sponsor of "Bridges: From Barriers to Solutions," the 15 th Western New York Homeless Services Network Symposium, on September 24 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Rochester. The event brought together over 200 providers, government officials, funders, and consumers from across NY for a day of learning and networking opportunities. The impacts of homelessness are felt across service sectors, and presenters from mental health, substance use, affordable housing, domestic violence, and veterans' services were represented to provide valuable insight through 20 different workshops that are designed to enhance collaboration-building.
Ryan McIntosh
Manager, Homeless Services
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Ryan McIntosh, Homeless Services Manager at the CCSI Rochester office, was a member of the Symposium planning committee and was invited to facilitate a workshop. According to Ryan, " Addressing complex social problems doesn't occur in a vacuum, and I am proud of the leadership role that CCSI plays in this very important work in Rochester, and I am humbled by the opportunity I have to build collaborations and coordinate resources and services across our community toward the shared goal of ending homelessness. "

Business Management Services
We offer the essential business supports that health and human services providers need to run their organizations successfully, scaled to your size, complexity, and budget. 
Planning for 2020 Health Insurance Premium Increase and Strategies to Off-Set Costs
New York State’s Department of Financial Services issued a press release earlier in September that we want to highlight here. Despite the federal agenda to roll-back consumer protections under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the state’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) continues to progress in protecting consumers by reducing health insurance carriers’ 2020 requested rate increases.

More than one million New Yorkers are enrolled in small group plans, which cover employers with 1 to 100 employees. Health insurance carriers requested an average rate increase of 12.2% in the small group market. DFS cut the weighted average requested rate increases by 35%, from 12.2% to 7.9% for 2020. The federal ACA Health Insurance Tax (HIT tax), which was re-imposed for 2020, accounts for approximately 3% of these rates. Without this tax, the increase would have been 4.7%

Barbara Marianetti DesRosiers
Chief Human Resources Officer
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Ready to Certify?
It’s that time of year again when Medicaid providers must begin thinking about recertifying their compliance programs. 

Here are the top 5 questions your organization should be asking as you prepare to certify your compliance program:
Maryjoan Case, CHPC
Compliance Officer
Privacy Officer
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
  1. Does my organization meet the requirements for a compliance program under the Deficit Reduction Act and/or the New York State Social Services Law? If you answered yes, then it’s time to start preparing to certify your compliance program. It is in your organization’s best interest to complete this process in the month of December.
  2. Does my organization’s compliance program include all eight core elements as outlined by the NYS Office of Medicaid Inspector General? If it does, you are all set to move forward!
  3. Does my organization have a designated Compliance Officer who has been managing the compliance program?  If you don’t yet have a designated employee as your Compliance Officer, you must ensure you have this person in place and managing your program before you certify.
  4. Is my organization’s CEO prepared to be the certifying official? Each organization must have a certifying official, and that role is typically assigned to the CEO.
  5. Is my organization going to be ready to certify on time? Remember, the time is now to ensure that your compliance program has all the elements in place and your workforce is fully aware of your compliance culture. Feel like you’ve fallen short? Feel free to contact me at MCase@ccsi.org for support to help get your program back on track! For example, CCSI offers assistance with Compliance Officer training; Code of Conduct creation and implementation; Regulatory review with Compliance policy and procedure preparation; workforce and Board of Director Compliance program training and more. 
Click here for the latest
Financial Services Updates
James Monfort
Manager of Financial Services, Senior Consultant
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Consulting Services
We provide the expertise and support organizations need to understand, implement, and sustain practices aimed at improving the way healthcare is provided.
Understanding and Applying ACEs Data Responsibly
CCSI's Elizabeth Meeker, Vice President, Consulting Services recently wrote a blog post on the New York State Trauma-Informed Network website talking about the importance of understanding and applying ACEs data responsibly. Check out her post to learn how we can to be better informed consumers of ACEs data.
Elizabeth, Meeker, PsyD
Vice President, Consulting Services
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
As understanding of Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) has moved from the world of research into the mainstream, close attention must be paid to what is meant by “ACEs” and how they are considered within a larger social construct. In examining the recently released New York Fact Sheet 2019 produced by the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI), it would appear that not only are fewer ACEs experienced by youth in NYS but that fewer young people are experiencing the social, emotional and behavioral consequences of trauma. The fact sheet presents the following data:

  • 15.7% of NYS children experience two or more ACEs compared to the national average of 20.5%
  • Of children with two or more ACEs, only 7.7% have an ongoing emotional, developmental or behavioral problem compared with 18.6% nationally.

As a clinical psychologist working with children and families for over twenty years, I sincerely wish these statistics were true and were an indication of improving emotional health and well-being of children across NYS. However, in partnering with many children and families on their journey towards healing as well as working with communities throughout the state who are addressing trauma systemically, I know that it is simply not an accurate representation. This leads us to question what has contributed to this misleading picture.

New Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Resource
The Monroe County Office of Mental Health (MCOMH) and CCSI have recently partnered to create an information resource about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) using local Monroe County data. Our intention is to further educate our community about the prevalence of ACEs, how ACEs affect the behaviors and health of our youth and how development of protective factors can improve their lives. The data points selected and methods to communicate them were carefully considered to make this a meaningful resource for a wide audience. Our hope is that sharing this analysis will continue to inspire collaboration and action in our community to give our youth every opportunity to thrive and succeed.

CCSI Attends the 2019 Healthcare Analytics Summit
As Manager of Strategic Analytics at CCSI, I support our customers in data analytics at all levels, from data identification and collection, to measure definition and performance monitoring. My team and I work with customers to help them to use data more effectively to support decision-making and drive quality improvement. I had the chance to attend this year’s Healthcare Analytics Summit in Salt Lake City, UT last month, and I was excited to learn more about the latest in healthcare data strategies and approaches. There are some key takeaways from that event:
Francesca Tangredi
Manager of Strategic Analytics
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
  • Virtual health care and data democratization are important steps for our industry to take in order to achieve our desired outcomes. While these steps can be uncomfortable, leaning into these changes will powerfully impact our work. Change requires disruption.
  • But wait, what exactly is “data democratization?” Simply put, data democratization means that everybody has access to data they need to do their job, and there are no barriers, gatekeepers or bottlenecks (while still working within all applicable regulations regarding security and privacy). It also requires a clear focus on ensuring that everyone understands the data they are accessing so they can be used most effectively.  
  • Instead of collecting data to focus on sick care, we should use data to better understand and measure health and wellness.
  • Data and technology resources are plentiful and it’s increasing easy to access information. Expertise in this field means being able to curate and make sense of our increasingly rich data environment so that it shapes services planning, delivery, and leads to better outcomes.
  • While this was a “Healthcare Analytics” summit, it’s important to remember that health care only determines about 10% of a person’s overall health. It is important to use data from all aspects of a person’s life in order to get a better view of the patient as a whole.
  • This quote from a keynote presentation by Anne Milgram, JD, former Attorney General for New Jersey, sums up a key theme from the conference: “Silos kill innovation and data is the thing that will save it.”

Let’s talk more about how CCSI can help support your organization with data and analytics – e-mail me at FTangredi@ccsi.org . 
Events and Other News
EHR In Person Events
MCTAC is excited to announce an upcoming half-day networking event for Behavioral Health Providers. This event is an opportunity for providers to engage with a variety of Electronic Health Record (EHR) vendors and their representatives. Providers will have the opportunity to learn about various EHR's. 

During this event, participants will receive information to include:
  • a brief overview and background information of each participating EHR vendor  
  • basic information about each vendor's capabilities
  • contact information for each participating EHR vendor

Participants will be asked to complete a Provider Profile. This provider profile will be distributed to EHR vendors to help facilitate the networking process and get a better sense of providers' needs.

Light refreshments will be served. 

Register Now!
Albany - October 7th (9:30 AM - 12:30 PM) Register here!
Rochester - October 8th (9:30 AM - 12:30 PM) Register here!
NYC - October 24th (9:30 AM - 12:30 PM) Register here!
Want to hear more? If you haven’t yet had the chance, we hope you’ll check out our Facebook page for more CCSI news and resources.