Be sure to sign up for plan alerts as changes are coming in Medicaid enrollment | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
March 16, 2022
The Marcia P. Coggs Center, 1220 W. Vliet St., is one of the locations where those enrolled in Medicaid services can get assistance. (Photo by Matt Martinez)
Health insurance advocates are recommending recipients of Medicaid programs, including BadgerCare Plus, sign up for plan alerts with the state as changes in coverage may be coming soon.
A full list of the state’s Medicaid services can be found here.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some special rules were put in place for Medicaid benefits as a result of the federal health emergency. Health officials widened the criteria for those seeking health insurance and saw an increase in enrollment starting in March 2020. Those benefits carried over and were automatically renewed in 2021.
According to data from ForwardHealth Wisconsin, roughly 41% of Milwaukee County residents were enrolled in some form of Medicaid programs as of December 2021, an increase of 23% during the pandemic.
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There was a 29% increase specific to BadgerCare Plus enrollment in Milwaukee County over the course of the pandemic, from February 2020 to December 2021.
When the federal health emergency ends, the benefits will change for some recipients. The public health emergency is expected to be extended until July 16, meaning the earliest date that people would see a cut in services is Aug. 31.
Justin Rivas, director of community health initiatives for the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership, said the end of the health emergency would mean enrolled members will have to be ready to prove their eligibility again and re-enroll for services.
The Wisconsin MyAccess mobile app is one way for recipients to stay on top of the potential changes. HealthyMKE, a website dedicated to giving people up-to-date health care information, sent out a notification recently encouraging subscribers to sign up for the app.
Rivas said the changes will affect individuals differently depending on their situation and encouraged Medicaid recipients to sign up for the alerts to ensure there is no lapse in coverage.
“The challenge is that the timelines are not the same for every single Medicaid member in the entire state,” Rivas said. “It’ll be done in phases, meaning that some groups are going to have different timelines, deadlines and due dates than others.”
The best way to stay on top of the deadlines, he said, was to sign up for alerts and prepare documents accordingly. Instructions will be provided to recipients by the state.
The team at HealthyMKE plans on notifying people when changes in coverage will occur, but Aziz Abdullah, co-founder of INPOWER, the 53206-based tech company that manages the site, recommended that people sign up with the Wisconsin Access app in order to be sure they get the information.
“One of the best things to do is download the app and have notifications on,” Abdullah said. “We want to make sure everyone has the most recent information.”
Abdullah said that those enrolled in Medicaid programs will get individualized notifications regarding their plan.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has resources listed for partners, including flyers detailing the upcoming changes in English, Spanish and Hmong.
The flyers encourage members to make sure that their contact information is up to date, including updating their address, phone and email if necessary. The flyers also encourage members to contact their local Medicaid agency or call member services at 800-362-3002.
The local agency for Milwaukee is Milwaukee Enrollment Services. The service can be reached at 888-947-6583. There are offices at the Marcia P. Coggs Center, 1220 W. Vliet St., and United Migrant Opportunity Services, or UMOS, 2701 S. Chase Ave.
Hours for the phone lines and in-person services are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Friday, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday.
While the changes are months away, officials want to be proactive to ensure that people don’t lose their coverage.
“We’re really kind of just in this holding pattern with it right now,” Rivas said. “It’s the tricky kind of gray space of letting people know that there isn’t a lot to take action on now, but definitely be ready for when it comes so that folks don’t miss it.”