Medicaid 1115 Waiver
The Medicaid 1115 Transformation Waiver, administered by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, strives to improve the effectiveness of services provided to low-income patients, who often suffer disproportionately from cancer and other chronic conditions. The federal government, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), matches funds provided by MD Anderson to support the program’s six projects.
This program gives providers a chance to find new ways to improve quality of care, health status, patient experience, coordination and cost effectiveness in regions developed throughout the State to more effectively and efficiently deliver care and provide increased access to care for low-income Texans.
MD Anderson is in the Regional Healthcare Partnership 3 (RHP 3), serving a nine-county area in the communities of Austin, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Harris, Matagorda, Waller and Wharton counties.
The Office of Health Policy provides program administration support and oversight for six funded MD Anderson projects:
Colorectal Cancer Screening Project
Low-income and underinsured patients in this region receive Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) take-home tests when they get their flu shots at a participating clinic. Patients receive instructions, a reminder of the importance of screening, educational materials and contact information for questions.
Expand Project VALET
After a clinical breast exam, uninsured, low-income or Medicaid-eligible women, ages 40 to 69, are given the phone number of our mobile mammography appointment line and information on what to expect on the day of their screening. This project increases capacity and expands the geographic coverage with the help of an additional van.
Skin Cancer Screening and Education (Project DERM)
Low-income and underinsured patients attend education sessions throughout the community on skin cancer detection and prevention. Patients are also offered free full body cancer screens by a dermatologist at participating FQHC’s.
Tobacco Cessation Replicating Ask, Advise, Connect
Licensed vocational nurses and medical assistants screen adult patients about their smoking status at every visit to four centers in Harris County. They provide advice to smokers about quitting, offer cessation assistance via the Quitline and directly connect patients who are willing to accept assistance with the Quitline.
Tobacco Cessation with Persons Living with HIV
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in people with HIV/AIDS. This project offers an evidence-based smoking cessation program through Legacy Community Health Services. Legacy cares for approximately 4,000 people living with HIV/AIDS at five clinics in the Houston area.
Tobacco Prevention with Youth
This project continues to educate youth by engaging them in ASPIRE (A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience), trains providers about addressing family tobacco use and uses social media to help raise the public’s awareness of the addictiveness and dangers of tobacco using updated content to appeal to today’s youth.
We Can! Obesity Prevention in Clinics
This project will implement the National Institutes of Health evidence-based program, We Can!, to reduce obesity in children by applying scientifically sound method for supporting and coaching underserved and minority families to achieve better nutrition and physical activity habits.