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5 <br /> The County has received assurance from Alliance that it will honor all open service <br /> authorizations for Orange County residents from Cardinal. The County will look to and <br /> reasonably expects Cardinal to provide that service authorization information to Alliance <br /> in a timely and suitable format to ease this transition and to ensure there are no delays <br /> in services to existing recipients of care. The County needs and requests the assurance <br /> of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services ("NCDHHS") that it will <br /> assist, as needed, in ensuring this exchange of information. <br /> Community Services <br /> Cardinal and Alliance are both Local Management Entities/Managed Care <br /> Organizations ("LME/MCOs"). Each LME/MCO has some unique services that are not <br /> necessarily offered by its counterparts in a different region. Alliance will work with <br /> Orange County to ensure a full complement of services is available to meet the <br /> behavioral health and I/DD needs of County residents that are insured by Medicaid or <br /> are uninsured. Moreover, Cardinal has provided assurances that it will continue to <br /> provide services to Members during this transition to Alliance. <br /> Through the due diligence process, we learned of some different services between the <br /> two LME/MCOs. In situations where Cardinal offers a Medicaid service that Alliance <br /> does not, we will work with Alliance to either add that service to the Medicaid Benefit <br /> Plan, if the County and Alliance agree it is appropriate to do so, or we will ensure <br /> Alliance's community array has like or comparable services to meet the needs of <br /> Members. <br /> All LME/MCOs in the state must offer a basic array of Medicaid services that is <br /> substantially comparable, even if named or branded differently, but such services and <br /> process for authorization may not be identical. In cases where there are such <br /> differences, Alliance will provide training and support to providers impacted by changes <br /> and will notify Medicaid beneficiaries at least 30 days prior to the effective date of a <br /> significant change to their healthcare plan. In instances where Orange County has non- <br /> Medicaid services in place that are not included in the Alliance Non-Medicaid Benefit <br /> Plan, Alliance will re-evaluate such service array annually in relation to applicable state <br /> funding allocations. <br /> Community and Member Engagement <br /> Alliance will reach out to current Consumer and Family Advisory Committee (CFAC) <br /> members in Orange County to connect with them directly and establish a dialogue to <br /> regularly receive their input on issues affecting the public behavioral healthcare system <br /> locally and statewide. Alliance will also begin the development of a charter and member <br /> recruitment for a local Alliance Orange County CFAC. <br /> Alliance prioritizes a system of care approach to build on the strengths of individuals, <br /> forge partnerships, improve access to services, and understand the story of the people <br /> and families it serves in a more complete way. To build a community-based System of <br />