Sen. Bill Stanley's 20th District Report

Sen. William M. Stanley Jr. (R-Glade Hill) this week announced the second release of a series of legislative initiatives for the 2015 General Assembly session that will benefit citizens of the 20th District and the commonwealth.

The series of legislative proposals include creation of a patient-centered medical home advisory council, private health insurance exchanges, regional care organizations for existing Medicaid patients, medical scholarships for doctors who practice in rural areas, and a rural healthcare telemedicine pilot program.The legislation focuses on the efficient delivery of quality healthcare for all Virginians as a more thorough alternative to Gov. McAuliffe’s unaffordable Medicaid expansion under President Obama’s unpopular Affordable Care Act.

Establishment of a patient-centered medical home advisory council to advise the Department of Medical Assistance Services on the commonwealth’s medical assistance program. This should increase the quality of care for the needy while managing costs through a patient-centered medical home system...

Creation of Medicaid regional care organizations (RCOs). An RCO is an organization of health care providers that would contract with Virginia’s Department of Medical Assistance Services (subject to approval of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) to provide a comprehensive package of Medicaid benefits to Medicaid beneficiaries in a defined region of Virginia.

The Department would then pay the RCO capitated payments, which are set fees for enrolled persons (whether they seek treatment or not). The Department would be required to enroll a majority of the commonwealth’s Medicaid beneficiaries into RCOs. An RCO may contract with any willing health care provider to provide services in a Medicaid region if the provider is willing to accept the payments and terms offered to comparable providers. In order to attain RCO status, an organization would satisfy eligibility requirements (i.e., financial standards and service delivery network requirements) and acquire department certification.