Jennifer Sullivan
New Grant Opportunity!
Navigators and In-Person Assistance Programs have been getting all the attention lately, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued information about a new grant opportunity that might also be of interest to outreach and enrollment stakeholders: the Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment Grants. These grants are available to groups that conduct outreach to get children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.
It’s Time to Weigh in: CMS Wants Your Comments on the Single, Streamlined Application
Last month, CMS issued a list of data elements for the single, streamlined application for health coverage. Together, these data elements are the nuts and bolts of what make up the application. This list is open for comment until September 4, 2012 and CMS has noted in recent public meetings that this will be one of the last opportunities to provide significant input on the single, streamlined application and how it will work. We encourage our partners to consider submitting comments, and we've provided a short list of questions to jump-start your thinking...
How to Enroll 1,700 People an Hour
FAQs You Can Use
Although there has been enough federal guidance issued lately to get anyone’s summer reading list off to a strong start, we’ve got another set of documents to add to your pile. CMS just issued a set of Q&As that address some of the most frequently asked questions it has received from states about the Medicaid expansion, eligibility coordination, and enrollment simplification.
Technology Tuesdays: Social Security Goes Digital
Earlier this month, the Social Security Administration added an online version of the Social Security Statement to its website. The new online statement is easy to use and provides people with secure real-time access to information on their Social Security earnings and benefit information. The new feature has been extremely popular, and more than 100,000 people used it within three days of its launch.
So, today, I joined those thousands of users and set up my own account. Yes, this is very sensitive information we're talking about here: To set up an account, the site requires users to enter their social security number, date of birth, and home address. But the site is secure, it provides a description of its privacy protections in simple, easy-to-understand language, and it was easy to set up my account. In about 10 minutes, I was looking at my annual earnings all the way back to my very first job in high school (thanks for the good times, Bagel Haul Deli!), as well as my projected Social Security monthly payment when I reach retirement age.
Technology Tuesdays: Everyone’s Doing It! How Facebook’s Peer Pressure Effect Might Help Enroll Millions
If people are influenced by their “virtual” peers to consider signing up for organ donation, could their peers also influence them when it comes to enrolling in health coverage?
A Hat Tip to Consumer Help Lines
We wanted to share a quick update with our readers: One of our very first guest bloggers, Massachusetts Health Care for All’s Kate Bicego, was recently featured on the Washington Post’s WonkBlog.
Changes Coming to a PCIP Near You
Beginning May 1, eligibility requirements for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) will change in the 24 states with PCIPs administered by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). In order to enroll, applicants must prove that they have a pre-existing health condition with one of the following documents...
Medicaid Regulations Pave the Way to Simple Enrollment
Last week, we gave a quick summary of the changes made in the final exchange regulations, which were issued March 12. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also issued final regulations on eligibility and enrollment for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) late last week. The rule finalizes the Medicaid expansion to non-elderly adults with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($14,856 for an individual or $25,390 for a family of three). It also serves as a complement to the exchange eligibility rules, promoting a vision for simple and streamlined eligibility, enrollment, and renewal processes for consumers. The final rule includes a few changes that will make enrollment and renewal even easier.
Interim Final Exchange Regulations Issued
On Monday, March 12, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final exchange regulations. These regulations include the final (and in some instances, interim final) versions of two different regulations that were issued last summer: one on exchange establishment, the functions of an exchange, and enrollment (among other things), and one on eligibility determinations for exchange coverage, premium tax credits, and cost-sharing subsidies.
We’re only just beginning to dig in, but we wanted to flag a few issues of most interest to enrollment stakeholders.
