Press Releases: 2009

AmeriHealth Mercy’s PerformCare Behavioral Health Company Awarded New Jersey Contract Systems Administrator (CSA) Contract

July 14, 2009
Harrisburg, PA –PerformCare, a member of the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies, announced today that it had been selected to be the Contract Systems Administrator (CSA) by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families’ (DCF) Division of Child Behavioral Health Services (DCBHS). The contract begins September 2009 and runs for five years with two one-year renewals.

PerformCare, a national full-service behavioral health managed care organization, together with its partner TAI, Inc., will assist New Jersey in enhancing its Systems of Care program. The Systems of Care program brings together services and resources from the various state agencies and community providers to coordinate and manage care for children, youth, and young adults using various services.

“We are honored to be selected by DCF’s Division of Child Behavioral Health Services as the Contract Systems Administrator for this exciting initiative,” said Dr. Richard Edley, President and Chief Executive Officer of PerformCare.  “We see a great opportunity for improving the treatment outcomes of youth and families while providing efficiencies to the providers,” adds Anne Morrissey, Chief Operating Officer and President, Pennsylvania Managed Care, AmeriHealth Mercy.

Under the contract, some of PerformCare’s responsibilities will include:

• Providing 24-hour, seven-day-a-week customer service/call center support
• Providing utilization management, outlier management and care coordination
• Coordinating access to services for all children, youth and young adults
• Facilitating access to specialized services for children, youth and young adults
• Providing quality and outcomes management and a system measurement program that supports DCF/DCBHS’ goal to promote best practices and assists the state in assuring compliance with state and federal guidelines
• Implementing a complaints, reconsiderations and appeals process
• Providing support for provider network development

To support these administrative services, PerformCare and TAI, Inc., will provide a highly innovative and customized  Management Information System (MIS) that offers flexibility, system integration, comprehensive information management and production of sophisticated and practical management reports. This new system will make the work of those delivering services more efficient, and give them more time to spend with the youth and families they serve, rather than on entering data.  

PerformCare will also implement its innovative KIDnet program, an outcomes management system which will help clinicians and youth receiving services understand the effectiveness of their treatments. PerformCare is currently developing the ability for KIDnet to do large-scale population analyses to help New Jersey and the provider delivery system truly understand what works for those in need who are receiving services.  KIDnet was developed through years of collaboration with the University of Maryland- Baltimore Children’s Outcome Monitoring Center.

"We are pleased that PerformCare was awarded this statewide contract to provide behavioral health care services in New Jersey.  One of PerformCare’s strengths is its focus on collaboration in support of clients’ needs.  PerformCare will form solid relationships with providers, advocacy organizations and communities to best serve New Jersey’s children and youth,” said Daniel J. Hilferty, President and Chief Executive Officer of the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies.

About PerformCare
PerformCare, a member of the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies, is a national full-service behavioral health managed care company that supports members through specialized behavioral health and human services programs in the public and private sectors. PerformCare, known as CBHNP within Pennsylvania, serves nearly 4 million people across the country. For more information, go to www.performcare.org.

The AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies comprises the largest organization of Medicaid managed care plans in the United States, touching 6.5 million lives nationwide. We are the nation's expert and industry leader in the delivery of quality health care to low-income populations covered by publicly funded programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's Health Insurance Programs. Visit www.amerihealthmercy.com for more information.