More than 150,000 New Adults to Qualify for Medicaid in 2012 - Are You Prepared?

In 2012, Colorado will be offering Medicaid for adults without dependent children, who have been categorically ineligible for the program in the past. According to the Colorado Health Institute, 157,805 Colorado adults without dependent children with incomes up to 100% of the federal poverty level are currently uninsured and are likely to be eligible for this program.

Thanks to great foresight on the part of our legislature, an historic expansion will occur in the state’s Medicaid program to provide coverage for this population with funding from a hospital provider fee and federal matching dollars. When it is fully implemented, it will cover uninsured adults without dependents between 19 and 65 years of age with incomes of up to $900 a month (for a single adult).

In the interest of ensuring this expansion’s success, the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved has established the Connect to Coverage, Connect to Care Campaign. The Connect Campaign is a group of stakeholder organizations working together to support the expansion as the state works to develop and implement it, and ClinicNET has been playing an active role in this group. The Connect Campaign is following the state’s progress to ensure effective decision-making. When the program goes live, we know we are successful when we see fully functioning systems, effective community outreach efforts, and ready and accepting care providers.

Safety net providers have been a great source of care for this population already, and will likely continue to be, albeit with a different payer source. There may also be some new patients who have never had a continuous source of care before, and may identify a local safety net clinic as such once they gain coverage.

Since we know that this expansion will be happening at some point in the next year, clinics should begin preparations for enrolling current patients who will become newly eligible for Medicaid as well as prepare for the possible influx of new patients. The latter could range from planning to hire new staff or collaborating with other resources in the region to distribute the burden.

By contributing our resources and knowledge ahead of the expansion implementation, we can ensure the successful connection to coverage and care for a good portion of Colorado’s uninsured population.

If you would like to follow the Connect Campaign more closely, you can check out its website, or get on the e-mail distribution list by e-mailing Aubrey Hill. You can also contact her if you have any other questions about the Connect Campaign.