Our most recent Boston HAN meeting was all about Commonwealth Care. We talked with Melissa Boudreault and Niki Conte about gaps, plans, and premiums. We also talked about the state budget's impact—and a new report on CommCare networks.
The following is the second part of our May 28 Boston HAN meeting notes. It includes the Report on Network Standards in Commonwealth Care and Policy Updates from Health Care For All.
28,000 Commonwealth Care members are slated to lose their coverage under the FY2010 budget. Many of these people would never have gotten coverage without the help of outreach and enrollment professionals like you.
Yesterday, I finally read in detail the the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center's take on the Senate Ways and Means budget, and it confirmed what I knew: there were so many cuts it was hard to know where to start. Since then (about 15 hours later?) I've learned of significant restorations to many of the programs I was going to tell you about, including Prescription Advantage, MassHealth and Commonwealth Care adult dental, and adult day habilitation.
Outreach workers at this month’s HAN meeting in Amherst reported happily that it’s getting easier to communicate with the MassHealth Enrollment Center (MEC) and Central Processing Unit (CPU). Delays in the Medical Security Program (MSP), on the other hand, only appear to be getting worse. We were joined this month by Michael Norton and Niki Conte from the Commonwealth Connector Authority, who talked extensively with HAN members about problems and solutions within Commonwealth Care.
Both unemployed people and outreach workers continue to have difficulties interfacing with the Medical Security Program (MSP). Mostly, it is the time spent waiting for the application to be processed, and the anxiety this brings; a HAN member mentioned a client whose wife has been hospitalized while the application is pending. It is often impossible to get through to an MSP representative over the phone.
We’ve been hearing in the news lately that, for a variety of reasons, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a primary care provider in Massachusetts. If a person’s first language isn’t English, this challenge can be even more daunting. The good news is that there is an excellent resource that can help anyone in Massachusetts find a primary care provider.
In both our Amherst and Boston March meetings, special guest Lisa Renee Holderby, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Community Health Worker Network (MACHW), shared the story of how Community Health Workers are gaining recognition and clout in Massachusetts and nationally. HAN members on both sides of the state reported that unemployment is hitting their communities hard, and that they are spending lots of time trying to help people who are confused about how to apply for the appropriate medical benefit programs.
Please also see our complete March HAN meeting notes. In this section of the agenda, HAN members discussed helping clients navigate budget cuts and processing delays, outreach strategies that are working, and what to do about a recent glitch at MassHealth.
