Since MassHealth redeterminations resumed on April 1 after pausing during the pandemic, state and nonprofit agencies have been working to ensure that people who rely on the insurance program do not lose their coverage.
During a visit to Worcester on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll knocked on doors to remind MassHealth members of the redetermination process and promote the efforts MassHealth and other organizations are going to make sure everyone has all the information they need to keep their coverage or find new, affordable insurance.
“We know every single day in communities like Worcester, and in my hometown of Salem, we have people that need a little bit extra attention to make sure they pay attention to what’s happening in the mail in terms of redetermination, get help or assistance filling out this paperwork,” Driscoll said during a press conference at the Worcester MassHealth Enrollment Center, which opened May 22. “We’re going to go that extra mile to make sure folks are connected. We want folks to be able to have access to the services that are so critical.”
Like other state Medicaid programs across the country, in 2020, MassHealth paused its annual redetermination process, which reviews each member’s eligibility for the program to see if they can remain enrolled. This allowed people to retain coverage regardless of changes in their financial status or household throughout the pandemic.
However, now that the pause has ended, the program is redetermining its full caseload of 2.4 million members, including more than 223,000 in Worcester County.
To make sure that everyone knows how to respond to the redetermination process, MassHealth has increased its staff by about 500 people to support its customer service center, application process and hearings, invested more than $11 million in outreach grants and developed multilingual communication materials, webinars and resources such as the MassHealth Renewal Help Guide, which provides step-by-step renewal instructions.
In addition to mail, phone, email and text communications, MassHealth, Massachusetts Health Connector and Health Care for All volunteers have been going door-to-door to speak with people about the renewal process. Canvassers have knocked on more than 328,000 doors in the 15 communities with the most MassHealth members, including more than 28,000 in Worcester.
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