HONORABLE MENTION, HEALTH PLANS: ARIZONA PHYSICIANS IPA: PROGRAMIDENTIFIES RISK IN ITS INFANCY.

Modern Healthcare, October, 1998 by Hallam, Kristen

All it took was one look at their enrollment, and managers at Arizona Physicians IPA knew they needed a perinatal case-management program.

About 70% of the Medicaid HMO's 130,000 enrollees are age 21 or younger, and there is a "large volume" of pregnant women, says Judith Black, director of the independent practice association's medical management department and champion of the perinatal program.

"We have lots of young and single mothers in the plan, and that's a high-risk group," Black says. "Even in the most stable environment, a sick baby can be emotionally devastating for parents. Our members live in poverty, many on the fringes of society."

The program, which this year received an honorable mention in the Excellence in Healthcare Risk...

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