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HFS responds

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Illinois

* Background is here if you need it. From Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services spokesperson Jamie Munks…

Rich,

Wanted to share some additional information about the efforts taking place to support Illinois Medicaid customers whose redeterminations are coming due, as well as make you aware of some national data that federal CMS released last week:

For nearly a year prior to the announcement of the end of the federal public health emergency, HFS was conducting outreach to customers about ensuring their addresses are up-to-date with the Illinois Medicaid program so their redetermination materials are mailed to the correct location when their renewal date is approaching and engaging and preparing with partners: the Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), health care providers, community organizations, etc. The state of Illinois has been working closely with federal partners and has taken advantage of significant federal flexibilities that have been offered to states to minimize coverage loss.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released Medicaid renewal data last week, including a national breakdown of coverage renewed, coverage terminated and renewals pending. Per the federal data: 2,216,287 Medicaid beneficiaries were due for renewal in the reporting month. Of those:

• 1,009,164 beneficiaries – coverage renewed (45.5%)
• 714,894 beneficiaries – coverage terminated (32.2%)
• 492,229 beneficiaries – renewal pending (22.2%)

You can find more information here.

-Earlier this year, the state launched a multi-platform outreach campaign, Ready to Renew, that includes paid advertisements, print, digital and broadcast communication, and grassroots outreach to help Medicaid customers ensure they are ready for required upcoming coverage renewals. The primary goal of the Department’s Ready to Renew campaign is to help Medicaid customers who remain eligible ensure their coverage continues without disruption. HFS has created a Ready to Renew Toolkit in multiple languages so that anybody who interacts with Medicaid customers can easily and regularly use the key messages and materials provided to help reach Medicaid customers. CPS has also had a campaign running since early May and is still running on CTA, Community Billboards, Interstate Billboards, leaflets in backpacks, text messaging and emails.

-Prior to that, in anticipation of redeterminations resuming, HFS conducted an outreach campaign in partnership with hundreds of local organizations to reach Medicaid customers about the importance of ensuring their contact information on file with the Illinois Medicaid program is current, so that their redetermination materials reach them in the correct location.

-HFS and the MCOs are conducting targeted outreach to customers whose renewals are coming due, via mail, email and text messaging. In partnership with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, HFS has implemented a new flexibility to minimize the loss of medical coverage for customers during the redetermination process. The new flexibility permits the delay of procedural terminations for one month for customers who did not return their redetermination by their due date. During the one-month grace period, additional outreach is being conducted to encourage customers to return their Medicaid redetermination. HFS has also re-initiated the 643RNW Courtesy Renewal Form – Follow Up Letter to remind customers to submit their redetermination. Some details of the letter are as follows:

• Will be generated by the 20th of each month when a customer’s redetermination has not been received by their due date.
• Will remind customers to return their completed Form B redetermination.
• Will remind customers of the ways in which they can renew their medical coverage.
• Will provide the customer an opportunity to indicate a reason, if they do not wish to continue receiving medical coverage.

-The Department has provided a training series that reached well over 1,000 partner agency staff who connect with Medicaid customers on a daily basis. HFS has also been working closely with the Illinois Hospital Association to ensure information and training is disseminated through those channels.

-The best thing all customers can do to ensure they are ready to renew their coverage is:

1. Visit abe.illinois.gov and click Manage My Case to set up their online account.
2. Verify that their current address is on file to ensure that their redetermination materials will reach them. This is critical because they may need to provide more information to determine whether they remain eligible for continued coverage, which they will need to do before their due date.
3. Look up their due date so they know when to expect their redetermination materials. Customers can also now check their renewal due date using the Automated Voice Response System. Customers must know their Recipient Identification Number, or RIN, their nine-digit medical card number. The client line is 855-828-4995, and is available in English and Spanish, 24 hours a day. Customers can find their nine-digit RIN on their medical card from HFS, and customers enrolled in a managed care plan can also find their RIN on their MCO ID card. Customers on the client line can also transfer to the Health Benefits Hotline during business hours to obtain their RIN.

Discuss.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 8:36 am

Comments

If redetermination is based on income, and ides has everyone’s income, shouldn’t the state do this automatically?

Comment by Dan Johnson Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 8:44 am
Not all income is in IDES AWVS system. Some people get paid in cash. Some people are self-employed.

Comment by DHS Drone Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 9:21 am
Most large employers are required to report wages to IDES monthly. Smaller employers report quarterly. Wages for farm workers are reported differently. So depending on the employer, the wages on the IDES system may not be current.

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 9:22 am
Also family situations may change in any number of ways. HFS (or DHS technically, I believe) can and does automatically renew some people, but it’s not the majority.

Comment by Perrid Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 9:24 am
Found this from 2019, about “ex parte” redeterminations - the type of automatic redes Dan talked about. I think it’s been expanded some by the General Assembly the last few years. https://hfs.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/hfs/sitecollectiondocuments/expartereportdecember2019.pdf

Comment by Perrid Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 9:49 am
Thank you commentators. This is like a good subject matter hearing. (no snark)

Comment by Dan Johnson Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 10:13 am
One important point
DHS Department of Human Services is the Department who is determining, redetermining and maintaining eligibility.
If someone needs help in redetermining their Medicaid they can go their local DHS Family Community Resource Center ( FCRC )
You can also do your Rede by phone by calling your local FCRC.
It’s super easy
And you’ll talk to a nice and helpful caseworker like me.
Although redetermination is new to those who are new to Medicaid
It is not difficult and there’s a lot of help available by phone and in person.

Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 10:22 am
HFS is handling a difficult national situation professionally and as well as possible under the rules. We’ve always known that at some point the Covid rules were going to end and a lot of people would, unfortunately, be thrown off of Medicaid. It stinks.

Comment by New Day Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 11:33 am
New day, nobody is being “thrown off Medicaid”.
Folks are told upfront that they have a responsibility to report changes and provide verifications if necessary. There is nothing arbitrary, capricious or malicious about it. I hate to sound like a Republican harping about personal responsibility but all recipients of Medicaid have a responsibility to cooperate with the redetermination process. It’s done with total fairness and dignity. It takes a Social Services Career Trainee a whole year to learn all the rules, regulations and procedures involved in determining and maintaining eligibility before they are promoted to a Human Services Caseworker.
I actually take offense at the characterization that folks are being “thrown off” Medicaid. DHS is as serious as sepsis about treating every customer with dignity and worth.
Nobody is thrown off medicaid.
They can become ineligible for any number of reasons but please stop with righteous indignation and Pearl clutching.
It only maligns the DHS workers who although dangerously understaffed, still treat our customer with great dignity and worth doing the very technical job of determining and maintaining benefits. The vast majority of cases are actually not automatically processed but are certified by a HSC or SSCT under supervision.
Meaning that a caseworker is making sure that it’s just and fair.

Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 12:59 pm
I think HFS is doing a pretty good job. They used the Covid period to work on integrating other state data into the redetermination process which has drastically increased members who are automatically redetermined.

As a result of its efforts, Illinois numbers are better than most states. The Kaiser Family Foundation has a great state tracking tool, based on the current results, most states would envy Illinois numbers. Everyone knew this would be a difficult process but HFS deserves some credit.

Comment by Raising Kane Thursday, Aug 3, 23 @ 2:48 pm