Thousands of Arkansans waiting to learn whether they’re eligible for health coverage under the state’s expanded Medicaid program should receive confirmation notices by early next week, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Human Services.
The state agency plans to send out notices Friday to individuals who used the federal website, healthcare. gov, to apply for Medicaid coverage between Oct. 1 and mid-December.
The federal government didn’t relay the applicants’ information to the Human Services Department until Dec. 23, department spokesman Amy Webb said.
Among those waiting for confirmation of their eligibility is Mara D’Amico, a student at the Clinton School of Public Service.
D’Amico, who has Type 1 diabetes, introduced former President Bill Clinton when he spoke in Little Rock on the federal healthcare law in September. At the time, D’Amico called the law a “dream come true” for millions of people with health conditions that have prevented them from being able to buy private insurance.
But D’Amico said Monday that problems with the federal website kept her from being able to submit an application for coverage until Dec. 22.
An employee at a federal call center told her she is eligible for the state’s expanded Medicaid program, she said, but she had not yet received a confirmation notice from the Human Services Department. Her coverage under her mother’s health insurance plan ends Wednesday.
“I’m just frustrated with how the process went for me, but realize that I’ll be significantly better off with the insurance I’ll be receiving,” D’Amico said.
The notices going out Friday will notify the applicants that they are eligible for coverage under Arkansas’ expanded Medicaid program and direct them to a state website, insureark.org, where they can complete the enrollment process, Webb said.
The notices will also include an identification number the applicants can use at a doctor’s office or hospital as proof of their Medicaid eligibility.
For those who are eligible, the program will cover up to three months of past medical expenses dating back to Jan. 1, as long as the applicant was eligible for Medicaid during that time.
The letter from the Human Services Department “is really the way for them to know, yes, they have coverage,” Webb said.
The department expects to receive information on another batch of applications, including those submitted in late December, sometime in January and will send out additional notices, Webb said.
“What people should know is, if you were told you were eligible [after applying through healthcare.gov], you don’t need to apply again, because we have that information and we’re processing it, and we’ll get letters out to folks as quickly as possible,” Webb said.
The expansion of the Medicaid program, authorized by the federal health-care overhaul law and approved by the Legislature this year, extended eligibility to adults with incomes of up to 138 percent of the poverty level - $15,860 for an individual or $32,500 for a family of four.
The change made about 250,000 people eligible for coverage that will start Wednesday. Under Arkansas’ so-called private option, most recipients will be covered by private plans on the state’s health insurance exchange, while about 10 percent - those whose health needs are considered exceptional - will be covered under the traditional fee-for-service program.
Since the sign-ups began Oct. 1, the Human Services Department has enrolled more than 68,000 people, including about 63,000 people who responded to a letter sent to food-stamp recipients notifying them of their eligibility. Others applied using a state website, by calling the department or by submitting a paper application.
For Arkansans who applied through healthcare.gov, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determined the applicant’s eligibility, then sent the information to the state Human Services Department.
Since the state Human Services Department received the information on the applications, it has been working to weed out duplicate records and correct other problems, Webb said.
The department is working with the federal agency to reduce problems with the data transfers and hopes to eventually get applicant information in “real time.”
Glitches with the federal site have been an obstacle for those applying for Medicaid, as well as those who don’t qualify for the program but who are eligible for tax-credit subsidies to cover some or all of their premium for a plan on the exchange.
The tax-credit subsidies are available to those with incomes of less than 400 percent of the poverty level - $45,960 for an individual or $94,200 for a family of four - and who don’t have access to employer-provided coverage that is considered affordable, meaning it would cost less than 9.5 percent of the person’s income.
D’Amico, who earns about $12,000 a year working part-time as a graduate assistant at the Clinton School, said she tried submitting an application for coverage through healthcare.gov about 30 times, starting on Oct. 1, but landed on a message each time saying her application couldn’t be processed at that time. When she called a federal call center, she was told the same thing.
Finally, on Dec. 22, she said, a call center employee was able to submit her application and told her that she qualified for Medicaid.
She credits the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for allowing her to stay on her mother’s health plan while she attends school.
That coverage will end Wednesday because D’Amico turned 26 on Oct. 4.
“As of right now, I have enough diabetes medication and supplies to last me at least through the month of January,” D’Amico said. “I’m hoping that I don’t have any medical emergencies, and that my coverage will kick in before I need to order more supplies.”
Despite her troubles signing up, she said the Medicaid coverage will soon save her from having to pay hundreds of dollars a month in medical expenses during her final semester at the school.
“I appreciate the Affordable Care Act, and I’m very much in support of the act and what it’s doing for the millions of people who need insurance,” she said. “I just hope that the people that need insurance are able to get it.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/31/2013