The situation was all too familiar: A young woman and her father met with one of our Community Outreach Workers and asked how to sign up for health insurance. A quick check in My Account Page (MAP) found that her MassHealth Essential had ended mid-month because she had started a new part-time job. MAP also showed she was already Commonwealth Care eligible. The Outreach Worker explained how to enroll in Commonwealth Care and all of the benefits it would provide starting next month.
"Well, the problem is that she’s a heroin addict," the father said. "Her rehab clinic checks her insurance every day and won’t help her out until she gets her insurance back."
Awards may be renewed for up to three years and will cover post-enrollment activities.
Access to "affordable insurance" won’t bar access to the HSN until April 2009.
This summer, MassHealth starting enforcing the rule that households who hadn’t paid their premium bills for 60 days or more would lose their MassHealth or Children’s Medical Security Program (CMSP) coverage. Members of these households may be starting to show up at hospitals and health centers, they may have no coverage, and they can’t get the Health Safety Net.
MassHealth responds to questions and notes compiled by advocates during site visits to MECs.
Tell EOHHS what their funding priorities should be next year.
Tools from MLRI can help translate some knowledge of a person’s immigration status into eligibility.
Enrollments usually slow down during the summertime, but this year, outreach workers are seeing increasing numbers of people needing help. At our July HAN meetings, we also had the opportunity to have some dialogue with Rebecca Balder and Carolyn Minkin of the Health Safety Net about upcoming changes.
Further notes from information presented by Carolyn Minkin and Rebecca Balder of the Health Safety Net, at our Health Access Network meetings in Amherst on July 18, and Boston on July 24, 2008.
A one-page chart clearly outlines who can receive which benefits and under what circumstances.
