The North Sound Accountable Community of Health (NSACH) is tasked with improving the health of the Medicaid population in the north sound region (Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan, and Snohomish Counties) through practice transformation, how services are paid for, identification and filling of health gaps, health equity, and partner coordination. Participating entities include counties, health care, EMS, service providers, insurance companies, tribes, public health, and others. NSACH’s initiatives and project plan strategies align well with SHD’s mandates and program areas. Overlapping work areas include immunizations, maternal child health, chronic disease prevention, oral health, and opioids. In particular, NSACH funding is targeted at the Medicaid population, clients for whom we often do not receive adequate funding to cover our costs. The NSACH is funded from a State Innovation Model (SIM) grant from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) delivered through the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA).
SHD staff entered into a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with NSACH in July 2018. The MSA was ratified by the BOH through Resolution 19-09 (Exhibit A) on May 14, 2019. An addendum to the MSA called the Project-Specific Agreement (Exhibit B) is the next step to clarify SHD’s work and to continue to receive funding. Concerns about protecting SHD’s protected health information (PHI) have been addressed in the proposed agreement item #7.
While the funding can be used for project areas that support NSACH’s mission, this agreement, as described in scope of work (Exhibit C), only commit SHD to capacity-building, cross-cutting implementation, prevention of opioid use and misuse, and intervention in opioid overdoses to prevent death.