AR’s bold effort to cut Medicaid costs, add transparency

On Monday, Arkansas will kick off a program to reduce its Medicaid costs and improve care through a partnership with its largest private insurance companies—Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield and QualChoice. If successful, experts say the state's Medicaid program could save about $4.4 million in FY 2013 and $9.3 million in 2014. The Health Care Payment Improvement Initiative is a shared-savings plan that begins to move the state and private insurance market away from a traditional fee-for-service payment system, to one in which providers are paid based on how well they deliver care and manage their costs.