NJAMHAA News Winter 2023

19 Winter 2023 We have to make it easier for members and equally important, for providers to access each other. Data is critical, and we get some from the State of New Jersey, but that tells only part of the story. Most of this will be from face-to-face discussions with providers to learn what each specializes in and to give me clues of things to look at with our members. Aetna gives a personal touch inworking with all ourmembers. I talkwith members almost every day. It’s themost important part of the experience. I contact members experiencing challenges, whom I know from information provided by Aetna’s call center. I’ll connect themto the right places, even if they’rewith other parts of Aetna. Data and reports are needed, but discussions withmembers and providers are so important. NJAMHAANews: How is Aetna partnering with behavioral healthcare providers to help ensure a smooth transition to managed care? JoeManger: Through NJAMHAA, I’m reconnecting with behavioral healthcare providers whom I worked with in the past and I’m connecting withmany more. I want providers to guide us in what we should be doing to increase access for members. Having enough providers is one part of it. Access means people have the ability to speak with providers and health plans in an unrestrictedmanner. We’re also talkingwith primary care providers. I need to convince all providers that we’re easy to work with; for example, providers will use the same claims system they’re using now. I want providers to also know that we will pay them appropriately and we won’t get in the way of treatment. We’ll rely heavily onNJAMHAA to pull providers together. We want tomake it easy to join our network. I’mdeveloping a one-page application and I plan to assign one person to help behavioral healthcare providers with joining our network. We have to speak about processes on providers’ level andwith their language, not on the health plan’s level. NJAMHAANews: What advice do you have for behavioral healthcare providers for collaborating most effectively with Aetna? JoeManger: I recommend that providers make the most of the resources and support we offer. I aim for Aetna to be the easiest health plan to work with so providers can focus on serving their clients. We are striving to make it very simple to submit claims. We offer monthly webinars and we help providers one- on-one. Some are not used to taking insurance or submitting claims, so we walk them through the process. I can’t tell them how to code, but I can explain the fields on the 1500 form that is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Join the Ongoing Discussions aboutManaged Care andPrepare as Much as You Can! Stay tuned for more conversations with health maintenance organization (HMO) representatives during NJAMHAA’s HMO Council meetings, and for details on training webinars. The next HMO Council meeting will be held on DATE March 3, 2023 TIME 1:30 – 3:00pm For more information, contact: Shauna Moses Vice President Public Affairs and Member Services smoses@njamhaa.org