Kristen Challacombe serves as the Deputy Director for Business Operations for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), providing administrative oversight and guidance in the daily operation of an agency that serves 2.3 million Arizonans, and has an annual budget of $19 billion. She joined AHCCCS in September 2017 as a Senior Executive Consultant in the Division of Health Care Management, providing strategic leadership for key cross-divisional projects. In February 2019, Kristen was appointed by Director Snyder as the Deputy Director for Business Operations. Kristen has 22 years of experience in Arizona’sgovernment programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and Long Term Care health plans with specialized knowledge and passion for serving vulnerable populations. Ms. Challacombe has a master's of social work from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Kansas. She is also a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.
Session: AHCCCS updates and Social Determinants of Health Closed Loop Referral System
Thursday, Oct. 20 | 1:15 p.m. breakout session: Hospital Finance and Reimbursement
Co-presenting with Melissa Kotrys, Contexture
AHCCCS & Contexture, Arizona’s health information exchange (HIE), have long collaborated on initiatives that improve the health and wellness of the Medicaid population through the successful utilization of information exchange and data analysis. As part of the Whole Person Care Initiative, AHCCCS and Contexture have designed and are implementing a statewide SDOH closed loop referral initiative called CommunityCares. CommunityCares will link together healthcare providers, health plans, community-based organizations and state agencies to ensure that individual social needs are fulfilled. This presentation will review the background and current status of the CommunityCares initiative and the AHCCCS Whole Person Care Initiative at large, as well as other key AHCCCS initiatives and joint HIE and analytics projects.