Montgomery, AL – Alabama's Medicaid chief has proposed hiring a chief financial officer and actuary to keep track of spending in the agency that accounts for more than a third of the state's non-education budget.
Dr. Donald Williamson told a legislative panel on Tuesday that the hires would be part of a managed care system. Williamson heads a task force looking at ways to rein in costs for the $5.3 billion program.
Williamson tells the committee that the approach other states have taken to managed care by privatizing Medicaid management might not be a good model for Alabama.
The agency last September launched a pilot program looking at cutting service overutilization. Williamson says getting a hold on spending would help officials figure out what approaches work.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)