Over the past six months, the country has been undergoing a Medicaid “rewind,” with millions of individuals who had Medicaid health insurance during the coronavirus pandemic no longer eligible on their current incomes. Membership was canceled for the reason that
States are now removing people from their enrollment systems as enhanced federal funding that paid for Medicaid expansion during the coronavirus pandemic is ending.
The state agency that handles Medicaid payments to Arizona residents is the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). On April 1, AHCCCS began the process of managing all 2.5 million Arizonans enrolled in Medicaid through a federal database to automatically confirm that a certain number are eligible to continue on Medicaid. did.
AHCCCS sent renewal forms to those who did not automatically qualify to check for errors in their information or to confirm whether they were in fact over the income limit.
Heidi Capriotti, communications manager for AHCCCS, re-evaluates and re-qualifies enrollees by considering income and medical criteria and reaching out to members for additional information as needed. He said it has been decided.
“As of September 8 of this year, we have started renewing approximately 1.5 million people, with approximately 1 million remaining,” Capriotti said.
Capriotti said the main cause of unsubscribes is people not responding when additional information is needed.
To date, 32% of renewals have been approved and 11% have been canceled. One-third of people disenrolled from Medicaid in Arizona are children.
“People need to react,” Capriotti said. “We also encourage those who believe they are no longer eligible to respond. Parents in particular are advised that even if the parents do not meet the eligibility criteria for Medicaid, their children will still be eligible for CHIP. This is because they may be able to transfer to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (KidsCare).
In some states, children are excluded from Medicaid coverage because the parent exceeds the adult eligibility limit, even if the child meets the eligibility criteria.
On August 30, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a call to action on issues in these state systems. “Approximately 500,000 children and other individuals who were wrongfully disenrolled from Medicaid or CHIP will regain coverage,” the agency said.
Arizona evaluates families individually. This means that even if the parent does not qualify for Medicaid, the child may still meet the criteria and be able to transition to CHIP.
Matt Jewett, director of health policy at the Children’s Action Alliance, said this approach, which automatically renews eligible children even if their parents are not eligible, is the right way to go.
On September 29, another call to action came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which sent a letter to state health officials stating that states should “provide continued 12-month coverage of Medicaid and child benefits to children under 19. “We must provide this,” the company sent a letter reinforcing. Health Insurance Program (CHIP) begins on his January 1, 2024. ”
AHCCCS is increasing CHIP eligibility limits on Nov. 1, and Capriotti predicts 12,000 new children will be enrolled as a result.
Jewett said if people are over the income limit, AHCCCS will send the application to the health insurance marketplace and someone will contact the family about alternative health insurance.
“When they go to the health insurance market, they can end up paying very high copays or being hit with high deductibles,” Jewett said. “So we would like to keep them in AHCCCS and receive care if possible, but the market has become much more affordable than it used to be.”
Claudia Maldonado, director of outreach and enrollment at the nonprofit Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers, said she is helping families who have lost Medicaid coverage but found affordable alternatives through the marketplace. He said he witnessed it.
“There’s a lot going on,” Maldonado said. “So just the fact that we have an entire community in this state that is dedicated to helping people go through this renewal process or apply for marketplace health insurance makes sure we enroll people.” And most importantly, it is very important to continue to guide them through these changes. ”
She said her organization’s goal is to ensure no community member goes without health insurance.
“We are linking arms with the Medicaid program, all health plans and the entire community to help as many people as possible,” Maldonado said.
To help you navigate both the Medicaid system and the health care marketplace, Cover Arizona, a statewide coalition, provides assistance through this. Website. We match individuals based on their zip code with organizations that can provide support in person, over the phone, or virtually.
An automated communication service called AHCCCS Connect was launched this year to help Arizonans easily find detailed information about registration.people can visit Health-e-Arizona PLUS You can sign up for email and text alerts to be notified about the status of your application, whether it has been approved or rejected, when it was renewed, and whether any action is required on your account.
“The ability to text and email people has really helped increase responsiveness. I think that’s why we had the highest percentage of people remaining eligible as of August. Either they respond, they are automatically deemed eligible, or they receive a message and respond to our request for information,” Capriotti said.
