Local providers outline Medicaid issues during listening session

Nebraska Medicaid Director Kevin Bagley along with the CEOs for the state's three Medicaid plans met with local providers in a listening session at Scottsbluff High School Tuesday night.

Heath Phillips of Nebraska Total Care, Jeff Stafford of United Healthcare and Frank Clepper of Molina Healthcare heard from local physicians and other providers about how they can improve their services.

Before they fielded questions, Bagley led a presentation on the changes that were coming to Medicaid this year. The first of which was that one of the state's health care plans would be replaced.

Healthy Blue will no longer be providing a Medicaid plan for the state of Nebraska and will be replaced by Molina Healthcare, an insurance provider out of California.

Medicaid members will have the opportunity to change their plans between the three providers during the open enrollment period from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15. If members do not voice a desire to change plans, they will remain on their current plan.

Members who were on the Healthy Blue plan will be assigned to Molina Healthcare unless they specify otherwise during the open enrollment period.

"If you're on Healthy Blue and you don't choose another plan, we will automatically assign you to Molina, that way we see the least amount of disruption," Bagley said.

Bagley said "Medicaid is always open," with the enrollment period for current members to change their plans if they choose to do so. He stressed that people who may have questions about their eligibility or who may have lost eligibility should reach out to the State Medicaid office where they can help solve those problems.

Other changes to Medicaid coming in 2024 include extensions on Medicaid coverage for postpartum care for mothers as well as continuous coverage for children.

Medicaid coverage for postpartum care will be extended from 60 days to 12 months under the changes. Children will receive continuous care for 12 months after they are found eligible for Medicaid regardless of changes in eligibility. This was increased from six months.

Both changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

"Twelve months following the birth of that child for mothers enrolled in Medicaid, they will continue to be eligible regardless of changing circumstances for 12 months," Bagley said.

Bagley said he was also excited to speak about the iServe Nebraska platform launched earlier this month. They new platform is designed to replace multiple Nebraska benefit applications that ask the same questions and place them all under one roof.

"We want to have a portal to ask the questions in a more accessible way and to have a central place where they can come and there's no wrong door because there is a door where everything is possible for that application," Bagley said.

Local providers had plenty of questions for the CEOs of the three plans following the presentation. Many of them surrounded issues with getting their patients transportation to appointments and access to dental care.

Problems finding dental care for Medicaid patients continue to exist in the Panhandle as there are few dentists offices who accept Medicaid. The providers expressed interest in looking for more dental providers so they could find care for their patients.

"There are things that are pretty clear we need to address, one is access to dental care," Bagley said. "... We've heard that in Red Cloud and in Ogallala so we know that's an issue. We're making changes but there's probably more to be done."

Transportation issues largely involved difficulties in connecting with more local providers for rides to appointments as opposed to the larger national and state-wide transportation companies that the plans have contracted.

Bagley spoke about the importance of finding ways to collaborate with more local providers for transportation to create an easier process for patients.

"Transportation is one of the social determinants of health that allows people to actually get to where they need to be," he said.

Plan CEOs said they would work to set up more individual meetings with providers looking to work through the system to provide better care for their patients

For those who may have missed Tuesday's meeting there will be a virtual listening session held Nov. 9 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. which will cover the same information.

It is being hosted by WebEx and can be accessed online at bit.ly/3QbhEBe or by phone at 408-418-9388. Those calling into the meeting will have to dial the access code 2480 433 7829 to join.

Contact Jack Underwood: [email protected], 308-632-9044.