It is the intention of the University of Arizona Rural Health Office to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) to develop and manage an AHCPR Rural Center. The Center will plan, initiate, and monitor demonstration projects for the expansion and promotion of managed care in rural Arizona. This project will also be supported by a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional Consortium and Advising Committee. This is a five-year project. It will build upon some of the successful experiences of the Arizona Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), the pioneer capitated Medicaid program in the nation. The goal of the project is to increase access to primary care and preventive clinical services for those Arizona residents who are currently uninsured and/or not receiving needed medical services to 95 percent in the study sites by the end of the project. This will be done by developing and using innovations in the organization, financing and delivery of health care services to the target underserved rural populations, working largely with and through the AHCCCS administration, as well as private managed health care groups.
