Western HAN members are currently waiting—for national health care reform to take shape, for the impact of state budget cuts to become clear, and for confirmation that the CeltiCare Bridge program provider network is broad enough here to begin enrolling eligible legal immigrants on December 1.
As proposals for national health care reform were taking over the front pages, HAN outreach workers were dealing with the impact of budget cuts to our Massachusetts program made necessary by the recession. Our traditional fall guest, Health Care For All Research Director Brian Rosman, gave both our Amherst and Boston meetings additional background on this issue along with a broader view of how health care reform in Massachusetts is faring in these challenging times.
People who lost their Commonwealth Care coverage on September 1 because they are deemed Aliens With Special Status (AWSS) will be enrolled into a new CeltiCare plan over the next few months. In the meantime, they have access to either MassHealth Limited + the Health Safety Net, or the Health Safety Net (HSN) alone.
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.
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.
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.
Please also see our complete March HAN meeting notes. In this section of the agenda, HAN members discussed concerns for elders, people with disabilities, and an increasing number of unemployed people during budget-crunching times—and helping clients through an often-delayed system.
