Program Specialist VII

Texas Health & Human Services Commission•Austin, TX

51d•Onsite

About The Position

Join the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and be part of a team committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of fellow Texans. At HHSC, your contributions matter, and we support you at each stage of your life and work journey. Our comprehensive benefits package includes 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees, a defined benefit pension plan, generous time off benefits, numerous opportunities for career advancement and more. Explore more details on the Benefits of Working at HHS webpage. The Delivery System Quality & Innovation (DSQI) Unit within the Medicaid CHIP Services (MCS) Office of Quality and Program Improvement seeks a highly qualified candidate to fill the position of Quality Improvement Senior Policy Advisor (Program Specialist VII). The mission of DSQI is to incentivize, innovate, and educate to improve health care quality. The DSQI Unit develops and implements innovative quality improvement programs and incentives, provides education and technical assistance to increase the adoption of best practices, and evaluates the effectiveness of quality programs and interventions. The Senior Policy Advisor is selected by and directly reports to the Quality Improvement Manager in the DSQI Unit. The Senior Policy Advisor works under minimal supervision with extensive latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. Responsibilities include leading DSQI's Best Practices Learning Sessions (BPLS) initiative that provides critical technical assistance activities and resources to support provider education and quality improvement activities across multiple priority Medicaid programs. This position will be involved in implementation of BPLS from start to finish with opportunity to design and make recommendations to leadership on the overall strategy for the BPLS initiative, manage the implementation of BPLS projects, and provide guidance to the team in creating BPLS resources. The Program Specialist VII will work with external and internal stakeholders to advance identified quality improvement goals and serve as a subject matter expert on quality issues and provider engagement. The DSQI team currently leads multiple high profile quality improvement initiatives that are critical to the Medicaid program in Texas, such as the quality aspects of Medicaid directed payment programs and working with hospitals to reduce unnecessary emergency department utilization by people with Medicaid. The Program Specialist will work collaboratively as part of a team and also serve as a lead point of contact on DSQI quality initiatives. The ideal candidate thrives in an environment that emphasizes teamwork to achieve goals, excellence through high professional standards and personal accountability, curiosity to continuously grow and learn, critical thinking for effective execution, and integrity to do things right even when what is right is not easy.

Requirements

A keen attention to detail.
Strong skills in communicating effectively both orally and in writing.
Knowledge of federal and state Medicaid and CHIP programs, services, and requirements.
Familiarity with key concepts of delivery system reform, healthcare innovation, or population health.
Familiarity with healthcare quality measurement and common data sources used for healthcare monitoring and evaluation.
Skill in project management.
Skills in conducting policy and data analysis, as well as performing research.
Skill in synthesizing, analyzing, and evaluating complicated and technical information and translating it into easily understandable and concise documents and oral presentations.
Skill in developing creative and workable solutions to complex problems and policy issues.
Ability to negotiate with multiple parties, internally across an organization and externally with stakeholders, resolve conflicts, and establish and maintain effective working relationships.
Skill in producing high quality presentations and documents for educational and other training purposes.
Strong skill in public speaking and presenting to internal and external stakeholders.
Ability to exercise judgment and work independently with minimum supervision.
Ability to organize and develop work plans and adhere to strict deadlines.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree with course work in a field relevant to healthcare, human services, public health, social work, policy development, research or evaluation, or another related field is generally preferred.

Responsibilities

Identifies, recommends, and coordinates education opportunities including continuing education and BPLS that support quality improvement goals for providers participating in Medicaid directed payment programs (DPPs) using live webinar presentations, pre-recorded webinars, educational materials, and trainings.
Researches specific BPLS topics (e.g. readmission, hospital safety, among many others), identifies agency and external subject experts, develops materials and presentations for DPP providers. Works with and presents to internal and external stakeholders to communicate quality improvement goals, identify provider education and technical assistance priorities, and discuss program progress and outcomes using program data.
Develops quality improvement recommendations or initiatives tied to recommendations from an external quality review organization or other entities, such as Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation.
Reviews and approves data submitted by Medicaid providers or payors participating in quality programs. Identifies issues with submitted data and works with Medicaid providers to bring reporting in line with state and federal requirements. Consults with HHSC staff and stakeholders to resolve problems, identify training needs, and discuss program effectiveness.
Prepares high quality written documents, including guidance documents, presentations, project updates, summaries, legislative reports, memos for executive leadership, and other documents related to quality improvement initiatives.

Benefits

Our comprehensive benefits package includes 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees, a defined benefit pension plan, generous time off benefits, numerous opportunities for career advancement and more.

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