Last week, we received updates from the Office of Medicaid on the outreach grantees who are doing critical work in helping people sign up and stay on health care coverage under funding through EOHHS. Beginning in November 2007, 45 non-profit organizations across the state were awarded grants ranging from $26,000 to $55,000 to conduct outreach and direct enrollment assistance into health programs. In April 2008, seven other organizations (including HCFA) were awarded larger grants ranging from $126,5000 to $170,000 to coordinate outreach efforts statewide and increase the number of the insured in hard-to-reach populations.
Here are some stats on the work of the 45 traditional outreach grantees for the period of December 2007 to April 2008:
93,135 Total individual encounters between outreach grantees and Massachusetts residents
77,919 Total individuals served by grantees (number does not include individuals with duplicate encounters)
39,189 Total individuals approved eligible for MassHealth, Commonwealth Care, Commonwealth Choice, and the Health Safety Net
35,806 Total number of individuals returning for additional assistance
21,921 Total number of individuals assisted with accessing a health care provider
58,229 Total number of individuals assisted with information on health care reform and/or the individual mandate
23,452 Total number of individuals assisted with information on wellness/preventive care
As you can see, the efforts by outreach workers across the state who are working tirelessly to enroll and retain coverage for individuals and families plays a critical role in health reform. And it doesn’t just end once an application is complete, or a redetermination form is submitted. Outreach workers are helping to change the way in which previously uninsured folks access the health care system and get necessary preventive services, reducing costs and improving efficiency.
The Conference Committee on the state budget is now deciding whether to continue these grants. Outreach grantees now deal with more complex cases of individuals who have wrongfully lost coverage. The numerous gains of health care reform would be lost if the many people who we successfully enrolled do not have continuity in care. Additionally, as we look on the horizon of implementation, Minimum Creditable Coverage becomes effective January 1, 2009. Even more efforts will be necessary to convey to residents that only certain types of coverage will be considered adequate to meet the requirements of the individual mandate. We urge policymakers to continue funding the outreach and enrollment line item at $3.5 million for fiscal year 2009 (half of that cost is federally reimbursed). Let’s keep up the great outreach and enrollment work that we’ve made over the past two years.
Jennifer Chow
Here we go again…Facing the prospect of losing grant funding and laying off highly skilled and effective enrollment staff. Outreach and enollment grantees are on the front lines of the health care reform program, making sense of complex program information for consumers who are often completely baffled by basic program information, conflicting communication from the many layers of agencies that are involved, and unexpected changes. We are an essential component of the health care reform team. And within a few weeks, I will be laying off staff and/or reducing staff time, and the number of people we can offer enrollment and coverage maintenance services to in our community will be sharply reduced. I do not undertsand why our efforts are not valued at the same level as other members of the HC reform team, so that we are not in danger of folding at the end of every fiscal year. I do not understand why there is not a mechanism for ensuring continuity of services to our communities. Riding this roller coaster of uncertainty every year is very discouraging when we put our hearts and souls into making health care reform work at the local level.
Need for healthcare reform is not exclusively an issue in Mass. Here is PA we also see significant numbers without medical insurance, often because they simply cannot afford it. Efforts by state government to solve the problem have been largely ineffective.