The California HealthCare Foundation today issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of software to automate the Medi-Cal/Healthy Families application process. The RFP, developed in conjunction with the Medi-Cal Policy Institute, will be designed to improve and simplify the joint application process, while reducing paperwork and lowering costs. With the support and cooperation of the California Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB), the Foundation has allocated up to $300,000 to develop the application software.
"The high tech world brings a unique perspective to solving this kind of problem," says Mark D. Smith, M.D., M.B.A, president and CEO of the California HealthCare Foundation. "We hope that using state-of-the-art technology to create an efficient application process can help to increase the enrollment of eligible children in the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs."
The software application is intended to be used by organizations that provide application assistance, including on-site and satellite county eligibility workers, provider organizations, community-based nonprofit agencies, Head Start Programs, school districts, and others. Similar to automated income tax preparation programs, the software will provide a simple interview process to assist a family in completing the enrollment form and accurately identifying its family size and income — two areas in the process where mistakes and errors commonly occur. Versions of the software will be developed for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems; a handheld device will also be developed.
The software will be extensively field tested in cooperation with several county social services departments. In addition, the software will be tested by community-based coalitions participating in First Things First, a current Foundation initiative to enroll children in the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families Programs in ten California communities. A cost benefit analysis and independent evaluation of the project will also be conducted.
"An automated application can't correct all the problems with the current enrollment process,"says Sam Karp, the Foundation's chief information officer, "but we believe that automated enrollment will not only speed up and simplify the determination of an applicant's eligibility for the two programs, but also lower costs, and reduce error rates."