First phase of new Medicaid expansion begins

Thursday, March 01, 2012 12:31 PM

Aubrey Hill, Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved

Adults without dependent children (AwDC) have traditionally not been eligible for Medicaid. However, with some funding dollars from 2009 legislation known as the Colorado Health Care Affordability Act (House Bill 09-1293), Colorado is gradually expanding eligibility for these individuals, starting this April. While this expansion is still pending federal review, approval is expected.

This spring, Colorado also will begin offering full Medicaid benefits to 10,000 individuals with incomes below 10 percent of the federal poverty level (or annual income of about $1,089 for a single adult). The 10,000 AwDC will be chosen by random selection from a pool of qualified applicants, and the remainder will be put on a wait list for future monthly selections, provided spots become available.

Eligibility and waitlist
Individuals who remain on the waitlist, as well as those otherwise ineligible for Medicaid, will be able to apply for the Colorado Indigent Care Program (CICP). CICP allows access to some health services until more adults without dependent children are able to be covered by Medicaid. As more funding becomes available for this expansion, the state may choose to either open up additional enrollment spots or raise the income limit.

To ensure statewide availability for new enrollees, the first 10,000 spots have been pre-assigned to each of the state’s seven regions in the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC) program. These regional numbers can be found on the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing website (Colorado.gov/hcpf) and will only apply for the first round of random selections. Any random selections thereafter will be statewide.

Become a Medicaid provider
Care will be delivered via the ACC program, which will connect patients with a primary care provider as well as with care coordination and case management. Providing continuity of care is critical for this population; physicians whose patients become newly covered on this Medicaid expansion should register as a Medicaid provider and/or as a participant in the ACC if they have not already. If interested, please contact Jeffrey Konrade-Helm at the Colorado Medicaid agency via e-mail (jeffrey.konrade-helm@state.co.us) or phone (303-866-2267).

More information on the history of this expansion can be found online at the Connect Campaign website (connectcampaign.wordpress.com) or you may contact Aubrey Hill via e-mail (aubrey.hill@ccmu.org) or phone (504-615-3085).