Officials warn Medicaid recipients to re-enroll or risk losing coverage [The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.]

Jun. 19—State officials are urging Medicaid recipients to make sure they reapply for coverage now that a pandemic-related rule that barred states from disenrolling participants has ended.

Pennsylvania is among the states that temporarily halted the periodic verification process enrollees must complete to determine if they remain eligible for benefits.

The state Department of Human Services resumed reviewing enrollees on April 1. State officials say as many as 1.3 million of the 3.7 million Medicaid recipients statewide could lose coverage because they no longer meet income or other eligibility guidelines.

There's concern that many people who remain eligible will also be booted from the program for procedural reasons, such as failing to complete the verification process.

That often happens because the enrollee did not get the renewal notice because they moved and did not update their address, Rachel Pryor, counselor to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said during a recent press briefing called to raise awareness of the issue.

Anyone disenrolled for procedural reasons can reapply, but that could result in a delay in obtaining care while their application is pending.

"Nobody who is eligible ... should lose coverage simply because they changed addresses, didn't receive a form or didn't have enough information about the renewal process," Pryor said.

To ensure coverage remains intact, Pennsylvania residents must access the state's website portal at https://www. compass.state.pa.us to update all required information.

The federal government is monitoring the situation to ensure states are taking adequate measures to prevent procedural disenrollments, Pryor said. As part of that effort, states must report disenrollment data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services each month.

Pennsylvania is among a handful of states that have publicly released the data thus far.

As of April, the latest data available, DHS completed reviews of 77,129 cases and determined 7,908 people were ineligible. Of those, 3,551, or 45%, were dropped because they failed to complete the renewal process.

In Luzerne County, DHS completed the review of 2,383 cases, finding 166 people ineligible, of which 15, or 9%, were for procedural reasons. In Lackawanna County, the department completed reviews of 1,375 cases and found 142 people are ineligible. Of those 66, or 46% were for procedural reasons.

The review process has just begun, so far more are expected to lose coverage in the coming month as more people reach their renewal dates, which vary.

A spokesman for DHS stressed no one will lose coverage without having a chance to update their information. The state is taking extensive efforts to ensure enrollees are aware that the verification process has resumed.

Those efforts include contacting enrollees via phone, text message and email. It's also working with various agencies to assist in getting the word out, as well as conducting a media campaign and providing information and various community events statewide.

Locally, United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Friendship House, Scranton Primary Health Care Center and the Wright Center for Community Health have joined in those efforts.

Officials with the agencies say they've taken several steps, including posting flyers, including information on their websites and other social media platforms and contacting patients by mail and phone.

They are also assisting people who no longer qualify seek other coverage under the Affordable Care Act, which provides subsidized coverage for income eligible adults, and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which covers children.

Joseph Hollander, CEO of Scranton Primary Health Care, said the center is working with managed care agencies to identify people who may be impacted to educate them about their options.

"We have a couple people on staff who that is their sole focus," he said.

The Wright Center also has a team of health workers assisting patients in determining if they remain eligible and to help them re-enroll or obtain other coverage, said spokesman Paul Krzywicki.

Sarah Bodnar, UNC's director of community health and aging, said the agency is reviewing case files to identify people who are at risk of losing coverage.

"We are trying to prepare people that we know, because their situation changed, that when it comes time to renew may not be eligible," Bodnar said.

Contact the writer: [email protected]; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.

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