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| From February 2000 NASW NEWS Copyright ©2000, National Association of Social Workers, Inc. |
Magellan officials hear what most concerns social work practitioners in their network.
As part of continuing discussions between NASW and Magellan Behavioral Health, Inc., over areas of friction between the company and social work practitioners, an NASW senior staff associate in December met with Magellan's National Advisory Board, which included top officers of the company.
Mirean Coleman, NASW senior staff associate, solicited from NASW's chapters information about Magellan's practices of most concern to practitioners and in December told the company's National Advisory Board and senior officers what social workers would most like to change about Magellan's policies and methods.
Officials at the meeting included Magellan's chief executive officer and chief financial officer.
Magellan is the nation's largest managed behavioral health company, providing mental health and substance abuse services to more than 60 million Americans. Social workers represent the largest clinical population in the company's provider network, receiving about 40 percent of referrals.
In collecting information from chapters, Coleman said she found areas of common concern, which she emphasized to Magellan management. Those concerns included low reimbursement rates, closed or reduced provider panels, claims reimbursement problems and problems with the credentialing process.
Specifically, she requested that Magellan increase reimbursements, open panels, pay doctoral-level social workers the same rate as doctoral-level psychologists and promptly inform NASW of changes in policies and procedures.
Coleman said she was impressed with the concern that Magellan's top management showed for social work as a profession and was positive that a better working relationship will result from the meeting and informal discussions of ways to resolve problems.
NASW managers have had several meetings with Magellan personnel over the past months, and more are scheduled in this year. Jaclyn Miller, associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and an NASW board member, has been selected by NASW to represent the association on the Magellan National Advisory Board.
"This is an opportunity for us to give concrete and direct feedback to them about difficulties providers are having with managed care," said Toby Weismiller, NASW's director of professional development and advocacy.
Magellan highlighted initial meetings with NASW in its own newsletter, Provider Focus, saying that "both Magellan and NASW recognized the value of working to better understand each other's goals and processes and are committed to strengthening the lines of communication through ongoing open discussions."
Magellan, the newsletter said, plans to initiate dialogues with NASW chapters, particularly concerning issues such as network recontracting and practice standards.
In return, Magellan asked NASW to review and provide feedback on elements of Magellan's high-volume practitioner strategy.
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Copyright NASW Press, 1998 |
