WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Leavitt Partners, an HMA Company and Institute for Exceptional Care released a report titled, "Coding, Coverage, and Payment to Improve Inclusive Health." The report was resourced by Special Olympics, which has promoted the concept of Inclusive Health, which is guided by principles designed to ensure that people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) have access to, and can fully participate in, their own health care decisions.

The report details challenges clinicians experience in providing high-quality care delivery for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) and potential policy options and solutions designed to improve coding, coverage, and payment for services provided to this population.

"Despite clinician knowledge of and work to achieve care models consistent with the principles of Inclusive Health, and some opportunities in coding consistent with those goals, there are also significant barriers. These barriers help to explain the gaps between care and payment available today and the improved state of care delivery possible for the I/DD population," authors note in the report.

The report reflects detailed coding analysis, literature review, and nearly two dozen expert interviews conducted to better understand barriers clinicians face in meeting the needs of people with I/DD. Clinicians in multiple specialties and practices settings, as well as payers, advocates, and government officials all weighed in on improvements that could make health care for individuals with I/DD more accessible, inclusive, and person-centered. The authors recommended the following areas for targeted improvement:

• Cover additional services needed to achieve care models consistent with principles of Inclusive Health
• Provide sufficient payments that account for the significant costs and the flexibility needed to implement Inclusive Health-driven care models
• Reduce administrative burdens for clinicians and staff who serve individuals with I/DD
• Increase training of clinicians and staff to enhance the workforce who can execute Inclusive Health-driven care models and increase education of payers to support provider and practice innovation

Ultimately, the authors concluded, "changes that can cover additional services and resources needed to implement care models, as well as provide sufficient payments through fee-for-service updates, Medicaid structural reforms, and innovative value-based payment arrangements, are needed to take Inclusive Health-driven care models from possibility to reality."

Download the report here.

More resources to advance Inclusive Health are available here.

About Leavitt Partners
Leavitt Partners, an HMA Company is a leading consulting company at the forefront of navigating change in healthcare. The company provides clients with investment support, member-based alliances, and strategic advisory services, striving to make health more accessible, effective, and sustainable. For more information, visit leavittpartners.com.

About Institute for Exceptional Care
Institute for Exceptional Care (IEC) is a national nonprofit working to make health care better and safer for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD). IEC partners with people with lived experience of IDD, family members, and health care professionals to change the way care is taught, delivered, and paid for by creating tools, programs, and campaigns. The organization was founded by health care experts in health care delivery, financing, payment, and policy, who also have disabled loved ones and has a track record of building broad coalitions of clinical organizations, payors, purchasers, regulators, consumer advocates, and disability service/advocacy organizations to improve patient health. For more information visit ie-care.org

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SOURCE Leavitt Partners, An HMA Company