Managed care is essentially a type of health insurance. In addition to helping ensure that a person with IDD receives the services he/she needs, and that those services are well coordinated, managed care is a “payment system” in which a Managed Care Organization (MCO) receives funding from Medicaid that will be paid to a group or network of providers for the delivery of some or all of a person’s medical, behavioral and developmental disability services.
In an effort to improve service quality and outcomes, while also controlling costs, New York’s Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) has been exploring options to improve upon the support systems that have been built for people with IDD over several decades. The OPWDD has chosen to pursue the development of a “managed care” model for the delivery of care and services to New York residents with IDD.