Medicaid Redesign Team: Basic Benefit Review Work Group

Contact the MRT Basic Benefit Review Work Group

Share your thoughts with the MRT Basic Benefit Review Workgroup by emailing basicbenefit@health.state.ny.us.

Work Group Recommendations

Work Group Mission

  • This work group will conduct a thorough examination of the current list of covered benefits in the New York State Medicaid program.
  • This examination will extend beyond the list of covered services to current copay, coinsurance and premium levels.
  • The work group will examine the latest cost–effectiveness research and value–based benefit design initiatives to see what lessons can be gleaned for New York State Medicaid.
  • The work group will develop a series of recommendations for modifications to the Medicaid benefit package and cost–sharing policies that will both improve health care quality and lower costs in the program.
  • The work group will focus on ways to monitor the impact of changes enacted in the budget regarding access to care and services.

Work Group Members

The members of the Basic Benefit Review work group were selected by co–chairs and MRT members Frank Branchini and Nirav Shah, MD, MPH.

CO–CHAIR: Frank Branchini, President and CEO, EmblemHealth

CO–CHAIR: Nirav Shah, MD, MPH, Commissioner of Health

  • Elisabeth R. Benjamin, Vice President of Health Initiatives, Community Service Society
  • R. Scott Braithwaite, MD, MMSc, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, New York University School of Medicine
  • Kate Breslin, President/CEO, Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy
  • Basit Chaudhry, M.D., PhD, Senior Researcher, Healthcare Analytics, IBM Research
  • Henry Chung, MD, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, CMO Care Management Company, Montefiore
  • Robert M. Corwin, MD, FAAP, Pediatrician, former district chair, American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Douglas DeLong, MD, FACP, Governor–elect, NY American College of Physicians
  • Mark Gibson, Director, Center for Evidence–based Policy, Oregon Health & Science University
  • Eugene Heslin, MD, NYS Academy of Family Physicians
  • Paloma Izquierdo–Hernandez MS, MPH, President and CEO, Urban Health Plan, Inc
  • Ira B. Lamster, DDS, MMSc, Dean, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
  • Eliot J. Lazar, MD, MBA, SVP & Chief Quality & Patient Safety Officer, NY–Presbyterian
  • David Lehmann, MD, PharmD, SUNY Upstate Medical University
  • Peter Newell, Director, United Hospital Fund's Health Insurance Project
  • Arnold Saperstein, MD, President/CEO, Metro Plus Health Plan
  • Kathleen Shure, Senior Vice President, Managed Care and Insurance Expansion, Greater NY Hospital Association
  • Joseph Stankaitis, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Excellus/Monroe Health Plan
  • Albert George Thomas, MD,, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Work Group Meetings

PLEASE NOTE: Space for meeting observers is EXTREMELY limited (first 20–25 people only – others will be turned away). Bring picture ID for access to all buildings.

A conference call phone number to dial in to listen (only) to these meetings will be posted to the MRT Web site at least one day in advance of each meeting.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 (10:30am – 3:00pm)

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 (10:30am – 3:00pm)

  • New York City – NYS Department of Health Metropolitan Regional Office
  • 90 Church Street, 4th Floor, Conference Room A/B, Manhattan

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 (10:30am – 3:00pm)

  • Troy – NYS Department of Health Capital District Regional Office
  • Saratoga Conference Room, Frear Building, One Fulton Street, Troy, NY 12180

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 (10:30am – 3:00pm)

  • Troy – NYS Department of Health Capital District Regional Office
  • Saratoga Conference Room, Frear Building, One Fulton Street, Troy, NY 12180
  • Minutes from October 19, 2011 Basic Benefit Review Work Group meeting
  • Meeting Materials:
  • Recorded Conference Call from October 19, 2011 Basic Benefit Review Work Group meeting