Major Medicaid Changes (and what it might mean for you)
By Kate Berry
One of our guiding principles at Sweetgrass Psychological Services is to advocate for access to high quality psychological care, and one of the ways we do that is by ensuring that our licensed providers accept Medicaid. In fact, we are proud to report that over 30% of our clients are able to access mental health care thanks to Medicaid coverage.
To give you a better sense of the picture: at the beginning of 2022, over 172,000 Montanans received Medicaid coverage through traditional and expanded programs. Thirty-four percent of those people received coverage through the state’s Medicare Expansion program, which acted as a vital safety net for thousands of individuals whose income and insurance coverage were impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Under the provision of “continuous eligibility,” individuals and families covered by Medicaid were not required to submit paperwork for “redetermination” of eligibility, meaning that when someone is qualified for coverage under Medicaid, they would remain so for a year.
Now that Montana’s State Legislature has voted to end continuous eligibility, there are a number of Montanans who are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage, either because they are no longer qualify or because of disruption in communication with the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.
Here’s how you can do your best to ensure that your Medicaid coverage remains uninterrupted:
Make sure your contact information is up-to-date. To do this, you can call the Montana Department of Health and Human Services at 1 (800) 362-8312, or log in to your Montana ePass Account and update your mailing address there.
Open and respond to any mail correspondence from the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, especially notices for recertification.
Find in-person help by going to your local Office of Public Assistance or by visiting the Cover Montana website..
If you lose coverage, you can determine your eligibility for other plans by visiting the Insurance Marketplace at Healthcare.gov or calling 1 (800) 318-2596.
Finally, while it won’t ensure that your Medicaid coverage goes uninterrupted, it never hurts to contact your state representatives and let them know that expanding Medicaid coverage is important to the health and well being of all Montanans.