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.
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.
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.
A simplified guide to health coverage options for the unemployed is available from BMC HealthNet.
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.
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.
MassHealth has updated their Provider Manual with explanations of the eligibility codes for NewMMIS.
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.
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.
