Wyoming
In Wyoming:
- All Medicaid behavioral health, mental health, and dental service services are delivered entirely on a fee-for-service basis through EqualityCare, the state Medicaid program. There were a total of 69,947 beneficiaries enrolled in Wyoming Medicaid as of July 2011.
- Wyoming also delivers home and community based services including care coordination, youth and family training and support, and respite care, through a 1915(i) Home and Community Based Services State Plan Amendment.
As of 2013, 59,992 individuals were eligible for Health Check (the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment, or EPSDT, benefit) through Wyoming’s Medicaid program. According to CMS data from 2013, Wyoming achieved an EPSDT screening ratio of 63% and a participation ratio of 45%. 23,541 children received dental services of any kind, with 21,296 receiving preventive dental services.
Last updated June 2014
| Medical Necessity |
Wyoming Rules and Regulations define Medical Necessity for the Health Check program as follows:
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| Initiatives to Improve Access |
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| Reporting & Data Collection | |
| Behavioral Health |
The target population for the Care Management Entities created under the Wyoming CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Grant includes Medicaid-enrolled children and south with serious emotional disturbance, as well as children in Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (or at risk of such a placement). Medicaid-enrolled children whose use of prescription drugs does not conform to state prescribing guidelines are also targeted under the grant.
The children that meet these criteria, and live in the southeastern part of the state (the focus area for the pilots), are eligible to be treated by a Care Management Entity (CME). The CME is an organizational entity that serves as a centralized accountable hub to coordinate all care for youth with complex behavioral health needs and who are receiving care in multiple systems. The authority Wyoming uses to run the CMEs is its 1915(i) State plan Home and Community-Based Services benefit, which was approved in July 2013.
Wyoming also offers ongoing case management for Medicaid beneficiaries under age 21 with a behavioral health disorder. This includes linking beneficiaries to needed services; monitoring and follow-up; referrals; other advocacy on behalf of the beneficiary; and crisis intervention.
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| Support to Providers and Families | The Wyoming Health Check website has information for families about the EPSDT benefit, a provider list, and newsletters about EPSDT. |
| Care Coordination |
Wyoming, in partnership with Maryland and Georgia, received a CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Grant in 2010 to implement and/or expand a Care Management Entity (CME) provider model using high fidelity wraparound and intensive care coordination. Through this grant Wyoming seeks to improve clinical, functional, and cost outcomes, access to home and community-based services, and youth and family resiliency of Medicaid children and youth with serious behavioral health challenges.
The coordination services the CMEs offer include:
Wyoming believes that this program will demonstrate improved access, reduced use of restrictive services, improved clinical and financial outcomes for children in the target population, reductions in disproportional use of restricted services by racial and ethnic minorities, and improved quality of care.
Wyoming’s 1915(i) State Plan Amendment also establishes that Family Care Coordinators will work to coordinate care and secure wraparound services for children. Care Management Entities and primary care physicians are expected to work together to track EPSDT requirements and coordinate care.
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| Oral Health |
All children in Wyoming Health Check receive dental services on a fee-for-service basis. The Health Check brochure details which services are covered by age group. Other dental services are provided as deemed medically necessary.
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For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
