The Power of Public Comment in MTP

Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health has been proud to participate in the Medicaid Transformation Project (MTP) for over five years. MTP empowers SWACH to create meaningful change in our community. The project provides core funding, which supports transformative work for partners across Clark, Klickitat, and Skamania counties. Through these partnerships, we are able to address important issues like care coordination, opioid use resources, behavioral and physical health integrations, and more.

The current MTP waiver, which creates the foundation for much of this work, expires at the end of 2022. The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) is working on an application to renew the project for another five years. As part of the application process, HCA hosted a public comment period from May 12 to June 13, 2022.

What is a public comment period?

The public comment period was an opportunity for community members, organizations, agencies, and other interested parties to provide feedback on the HCA’s proposed application for the new waiver. People were invited to participate through public hearings, online surveys, email and mail campaigns, and contacting their local accountable community of health (ACH) directly with feedback. This information is then reviewed and considered by HCA before the application is submitted next month.

SWACH’s efforts to promote the public comment period

SWACH actively encouraged people to participate in this campaign. Our goals were to help community members understand the waiver, demonstrate the value of MTP, and make it easy for people to provide feedback. 

During the public comment period, we developed a variety of tools and content that helped engage with our community. We regularly featured the feedback opportunity on our social media channels and in emails to our partners. We mentioned the public comment period in meetings with stakeholders and other interested individuals, we wrote stories highlighting the role MTP plays in our community, and we encouraged individuals to participate in a letter-writing campaign. 

After a month of heavy promotion, we have seen great participation from our community in this public comment period. SWACH is thankful to everyone who took the time to provide valuable feedback. 

“Your support is greatly appreciated as we work together to achieve equity in health and wellness – for all,” said Nichole Peppers, SWACH Executive Director.

With strong representation from Southwest Washington in this process, we are confident that our region will be well represented in the next waiver application.

Learn more about stories that highlight the power of MTP in our newsroom.