Amerigroup Texas focuses on reinventing healthcare and fortifying communities. Sometimes, that means on-the-ground community events, such as our Community Assistance Week that was covered in Spanish by Houston’s Telemundo and Univision stations.
And sometimes, it means working on a larger scale.
Amerigroup has been a partner in Texas’ Medicaid system for about a quarter of a century, and we’re one of the highest-performing health plans in the state’s managed care system. Just since 2013, Amerigroup has repaid taxpayers nearly $1.2 billion and reinvested hundreds of millions more in programs that promote health, support value-based care, and address social determinants of health.
We also routinely work with state and local elected officials and policy makers on initiatives that help Texans get healthy and stay healthy, and that empower Texans to choose and sustain a healthy lifestyle.
That work was on display in August at the West Texas Legislative Summit, a two-day event in San Angelo that brought together dozens of leaders and experts to consider next steps on key policy issues facing Texas.
Amerigroup was the underwriting sponsor of the event, which spotlight our rural and border health initiatives in Texas.
Amerigroup Texas President and CEO Greg Thompson also participated in a panel discussion at the summit on Challenges and Outcomes in Rural Hospitals and Healthcare. The panel included three state representatives — Reps. John Smithee, David Spiller and Gary VanDeaver — as well as three other industry leaders, and it was moderated by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center President Lori Rice-Spearman.
In his comments, Thompson stressed the need to increase access to care in rural counties across West Texas and elsewhere in the state. He also talked about the shortage of healthcare professionals in the region — and what Amerigroup is doing to address it.
“Our work in Texas will have lasting impacts on the communities and the lives of the people we serve. We’re proud to be a state leader in rural health, and we’ll continue working to solve some of the state’s most challenging health equity issues, and to increase access to care for vulnerable communities — no matter where they are.”
Greg Thompson, President and CEO, Amerigroup Texas
Short-term solutions include deploying technology such as iPads to offer telehealth services, supporting clinics along the border with partners like the University of North Texas Health Science Center, and being creative about meeting the needs of providers and clinics in rural areas — such as by helping to create housing at a clinic in Presidio.
Long-term, we’re supporting a wide range of initiatives — from rural medicine endowments to clinic and hospital capacity-building grants to rural doula programs — to meet the needs of rural Texans.
All told, Amerigroup Texas has invested more than $2 million in rural health.