This week, automatic enrollments will begin in the Boston area for "Commonwealth Care Bridge," the new program for legal immigrants whose Commonwealth Care coverage was ended on August 31, 2009 because of the changes in state law.
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.
Yesterday, Governor Patrick announced that CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts has been selected to offer coverage to 31,000 people identified as "Aliens With Special Status" who today lost their Commonwealth Care coverage.
Since the legislature decided to end Commonwealth Care eligibility for some legal immigrants as of September 1, HAN members have been fielding lots of calls from concerned and confused immigrant clients.
MassHealth recently trained specific workers at the MassHealth Enrollment Centers (MECs) to process updates to your clients' immigration status. It is important to check and update immigration information right away, because members who are deemed "Aliens with Special Status" (AWSS) will no longer be eligible for Commonwealth Care after August 31.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is seeking new applicants for several grant areas and for its transformative Institute for Community Health Leadership.
Our special guest was Toby Guevin, State Policy Director for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition. We discussed the categories that determine immigrants’ eligibility for health benefits; gaps and barriers to coverage; and what policy changes the future could bring.
Approximately 31,000 Commonwealth Care members who are legal immigrants could lose their Commonwealth Care coverage as of August 1, 2009. A helpful tip sheet and checklist from the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) can help you figure out who may still be eligible.
MassHealth has updated their Provider Manual with explanations of the eligibility codes for NewMMIS.
The MassHealth Training Forum announced (PDF) that starting this week, MassHealth is again giving clients 45 days to complete and return Eligibility Review and Verification (ERV) forms. The 45 day window now applies to MassHealth, Children’s Medical Security Plan, Commonwealth Care, Health Safety Net and Healthy Start programs.
