“AXIS care coordination makes sense, not only in helping members function in the community, but also in preventing unnecessary health care expenditures,” Bachman said. “For example, in a recent analysis has demonstrated that our after-hours on call has saved nearly $100,000 a month in unnecessary hospitalizations”. Bachman commented that care coordination is being promoted for populations other than persons with disabilities. For example, care coordination is a requirement of the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) bill that recently passed by the Minnesota Legislature.
In his career Bachman has been devoted to helping children and families and persons with disabilities overcome challenges and live productively in the community. Bachman has more than 35 years’ experience in local and state government and the nonprofit sector. He served as director of the Olmstead County Social Services Division and as Utah State Director of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. He was also director of a regional mental health center in Utah, and led two nonprofit agencies serving children and families and providing outpatient prevention and treatment for chemical dependency, mental health, and domestic violence.
More recently Bachman was vice president of Child and Family Support Services for Children’s Home Society and Family Services. This department had overall responsibilities for early childhood care and education, individual and family counseling, and family support services.
He takes the helm of an organization that faces the challenges of coping with tight budgets while providing quality services. “The closing of MnDHO at the end of the year certainly has presented challenges for AXIS,” Bachman said. However, he emphasized the key points that have been communicated to members and the community: Members do not need to take any action at this time. Members are still covered under MnDHO for the rest of the year and will continue to receive care coordination support from AXIS Healthcare. AXIS will continue to operate as a care coordination program. AXIS will be with our members through this transition. Member information meetings will be held in the summer, with dates, times and locations of these meetings announced soon.
Bachman noted that AXIS has recently undergone necessary cost-saving measures, which includes staffing reductions. However, these actions were taken to minimize the impact on the core delivery of services to members. “In the current economic environment everyone is experiencing some belt-tightening,” Bachman said. “However, we fully intend to continue to provide quality care coordination, while pursuing other partners who are interested in engaging in the skills and resources we have to offer. I firmly believe that AXIS is a model for the future of health care reform.” Bachman cites the history of AXIS and a statement of why AXIS was founded:“AXIS was created to bring the knowledge of physical disabilities to managed care.”
Bachman also pointed out that a significant number of members also have mental health issues, and other barriers such as a lack of adequate housing, employment challenges, transportation issues and other barriers that prevent them from fully participating in community life.
Bachman enjoys spending time with family and friends, and playing with his grandson. He also enjoys hiking and camping, reading and writing, and following his favorite sports teams. After spending several years away from Minnesota, he is glad to be back home.
