For Immediate Release:
September 13, 2023
Media Contact:
Michael Scotto
mscotto@melwoodglobal.com
(646) 373-0427
Press Release
MassHealth, the Health Connector and Health Care For All highlight efforts to help Lawrence-area residents maintain coverage through MassHealth redetermination process
Lawrence – MassHealth Assistant Secretary Mike Levine, Health Connector Executive Director Audrey Morse Gasteier, Health Care For All (HCFA) Executive Director Amy Rosenthal and others joined together on Wednesday to discuss the MassHealth redeterminations process and ongoing efforts in Lawrence to ensure MassHealth members know what they can do to stay covered.
From March 2020 – March 2023, MassHealth suspended eligibility redeterminations and maintained members’ health care coverage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in compliance with federal rules. On April 1, 2023 MassHealth began the year-long process of redetermining its full caseload of 2.4 million members – with more than 90 percent of Lawrence residents impacted. Members should check for mail from MassHealth and respond to it in order to get the best coverage for them and their family.
“MassHealth is committed to providing members with the information and resources they need to stay covered during and after the redetermination process,” said Mike Levine. “This is especially critical in communities, like Lawrence, where a high percentage of residents are enrolled in MassHealth. We are working with health plans, providers and community-based organizations to ensure members who still qualify stay covered and all others are connected with affordable alternatives.”
Massachusetts is committed to reducing unnecessary loss of health care coverage and ensuring that all members receive the appropriate coverage during the redeterminations process. MassHealth and the Massachusetts Health Connector have an integrated eligibility process that ensures that information about members who are no longer eligible for MassHealth will automatically be sent to the Health Connector for outreach, where they may be eligible for subsidized coverage.
“Massachusetts has a long history of leading the way on health care access and affordability, and through this collective effort over the next year we will make sure everyone who needs health insurance has it,” said Audrey Morse Gasteier. “The Health Connector’s role is to make sure everyone in the Commonwealth who needs coverage can get covered in an affordable, high-quality plan. People losing MassHealth coverage can preserve their peace of mind by securing new health coverage through the Health Connector and tapping into state and federal subsidies to lower their costs.”
“Health Care For All is delighted to be partnering with MassHealth, the Health Connector and local community organizations to conduct a multicultural, multilingual campaign aimed at educating people about the steps they need to take to stay covered,” said Amy Rosenthal. “This all-hands-on-deck effort to keep our communities covered is only possible with the collaboration of community-based organizations like Olive in July and AgeSpan, who are working tirelessly to help MassHealth members in Lawrence maintain their health coverage.”
Although the renewal process for members began on April 1, MassHealth has undertaken extensive preparations in advance. This includes increasing staffing levels by about 500 people to support MassHealth Customer Service Center capacity, application processing and hearings; over $11M in outreach grants; and the development of multilingual targeted communications materials and webinars, and on-the-ground resources such as the MassHealth Renewal Help Guide, which includes step-by-step renewal instructions and commonly asked questions.
This outreach includes door-to-door canvassing in the 15 communities with the highest number of MassHealth members to share materials and resources, sub-grants to community-based organizations to conduct community outreach and train staff to provide enrollment assistance, and a multilingual media buy. Canvassers have already knocked on over 350,000 doors through August.
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