WORK
GROUPS
Many organizations in Massachusetts provide some level of care coordination for some segment of children with special health care needs. The ultimate goal of the Care Coordination Work Group is to weave this patchwork of services into a coherent and comprehensive system.
Family Participation
Families of children with special health care needs have a vital role to play in improving systems of care. The Family Participation Work Group promotes and supports that role, strengthening partnerships between family members and policymakers at all levels of public and private sector organizations.
How do health insurers define medical necessity? What criteria do they use to allow benefit exceptions or experimental procedures? The Medical Coverage Decision-Making Work Group’s goal is to improve understanding of how payers decide whether to cover medical services.
Children and their families who have a "medical home" receive care from a physician they know and trust. The Medical Home Work Group promotes the concept of medical home partnerships to families, primary care providers, health plans, and state agencies.
For youth with special health care needs, turning 22 has been compared to "falling off a cliff," as services they have depended on are no longer available to them. This Task Force supports the goal that youth receive the services necessary to transition to all aspects of adult life, including adult health care, work and independence.