Continuing changes in the health care system have prompted states to alter their approach to the delivery of services to low-income families. Burgeoning Medicaid budgets have literally mandated that Program administrators implement policies and practices that have the potential for realizing long range cost savings. Cost saving is a critical factor, but assuring that the families being served actually have access to the services is as important. To address these needs, many states have turned to Primary Care Case Management.

In 1993, this was the route the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare chose to take when they applied for, and received, a Federal waiver to develop and administer a Primary Care Case Management program. Because of our association with EPSDT in Pennsylvania over the 13 previous years, AHS was chosen to administer this new endeavor called the Family Care Network (FCN). Moving into the managed care arena was a logical step for the company. The infrastructure for developing such a program was already in place, and our years of experience in managing other large-scale programs more than adequately prepared us for the task at hand. In fact, the PA PCCM Program, currently called ACCESS Plus, offers enhanced PCCM services to an expanded population. It is the single largest comprehensive, integrated Medicaid PCCM and disease management (DM) program; AHS and McKesson Health Solutions administer the PCCM and DM components, respectively.