The Movement Toward Managed Care: Setting the IDD Field up for Success

Managed care is likely to significantly affect the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) field in the coming years, with many providers of services to people with intellectual disabilities not adequately prepared for the move into managed care. Fortunately, there are ways providers can better position themselves for success in their rapidly evolving and shifting field.  

In a column for ANCOR, the association of private providers of supports to people with disabilities, Terence Blackwell Jr., L-BCBA, SAS, outlines his concerns about a potential return to large-scale medical model institutions as managed care further penetrates the IDD field. He then discusses three areas where providers should focus their attention to achieve the improvements necessary to succeed with managed care, avoid a return and rise of institutions, and further help the individuals they serve: strengthening operational efficiency, measuring and tracking costs, and enhancing outcomes with advanced technology. 

As Blackwell Jr. states, "With aggressive steps made here, we can meet managed care head on and head off the failed IDD care delivery methods of the now distant past." 

Access Blackwell Jr.'s column: "I/DD Services: Meeting Managed Care Head On to Avoid Past Mistakes."