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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03021999 - D3 Tt►: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS i CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FROM: William Walker,M© Health Services Director DATE: February 17,1999 SUBJECT: A letter to Secretary of California„Health:&Human Services;Agency regarding Medi-Cal Aid Code 38 eligibles' SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)a 13ACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION >' ..Ra.ommend$ Authorize the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to send a letter to Grantland Johnson, Secretary of California Health&Human Services Agency urging a modification of the state's policies for revising Medi-Cal Aid Code 38 eligibles. Bad=und:: There are approximately 14,000 Medi-Calbeneficiaries in Contra Costa County who are no longer eligible for cash benefits under CalWORKS and who are in danger of losing their Medi-Cal. These beneficiaries have been put in a temporary"holding"Aid category 38. Under direction from the state, County Social Service has sent redetermination packages to these individuals giving them 60 days to respond. Most of these beneficiaries'are likely to be eligible for continued benefits under Transitional Medi-Cal or the Section 193'1(b) program. However, the normal 60-day response time will not be sufficient to reach all of these beneficiaries and inform them of their potential eligibility,'given the new separation of cash benefits from Medi-Cal benefits,the fact that these beneficiaries have not been asked to provide income documentation to social services for almost a year, and the sheer number of beneficiaries whom counties will need to reach. The letter to Grantland Johnson urges that the policy for review of Aid Code 38 and 3C, as set out in All County Letter 9843(September 30, 1998),be ' modified in the following ways. Beneficiaries should be given;additional time to return the paperwork necessary for counties to review and re-establish Medi-Cal eligibility. Counties should be given a full'year to review all of the Aid Codes'39 and 3C redetermination cases,in accordance with the request of the County Welfare'Directors Association. In the interim,the letter urges Secretary Johnson to communicate immediately with counties and instruct them not to terminate any beneficiary in Aid Codes 38 and 3C until he and the new DHS Director have an opportunity to review the state's policy on this subject: The health insurance status of 14,000 Contra Costa parents and children is at risk if the current state' policy is not modified- :scat Impact: The county will lose annually:approximately$11 million in Medi;-Cal premium revenue if the current Aid Code 38 Medi-Cal eligibles lose their Medi-Cal eligibility. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: yes SIGNATURE x t.+-- €✓""""� RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHERr SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON /1 .� /�;' APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED eft VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE ✓UNANIMOtiS (ABSENT!t� ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD AYES: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN, NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN:.,: Contact Person: Milt Camhi(313-6064) ATTESTED CC: Contra Costa Health Plan PHIL;BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Health Services Administration SUP ERVIRS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY: ,DEPUTY. The Board of upervisors4./L Contra rCt Phil Batchelor Clerk of the Board and County Administration Building Costa County Administrator 651 Pine Street,Room 106 (925)335-1 9W Martinez, California 94553-1293 County John Giola,1st District Gayle Uilkema,2nd-District Donna Gerber,3rd District (Nark DeSaulnier,4th District � Joe Can+ciamille,5th District February 17, 1999 r- Grantland Johnson, Secretary California Health and Human Services Agency 1600 9*Street, #460 Sacramento, CA 95814 Lear Secretary Johnson: Congratulations on your appointment as Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency. As you take on this extremely important position, we are writing to you about an issue that demands your urgent attention. Specifically,we are asking that you act to protect the health insurance of nearly 400,0300 statewide Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are at risk of becoming uninsured. In Contra.Creta alone there are 14,000 beneficiaries at risk. As you know, sine California's implementation ofCalWORKS on January 1, 1998, counties have been instructed d to place Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are losing cash benefits in aid codes 38 or 3C. As of October 1998,there were 365,535 beneficiaries in aid code 38 alone,.and this number continues to grow. The vast majority of these beneficiaries are likely to be eligible for continued benefits under Transitional Medi-Cal or the Section 1931 (b)program. DHS has directed counties to send letters and redetermination packages to all of these beneficiaries before December 1. Beneficiaries then had 60 days to respond to county social service departments with new application materials,and counties have until April 30, 1999, to review all of these individuals for Medi-Cal eligibility. We are very concerned that the normal 60-day response time will not be sufficient to reach all of these beneficiaries and inform them of their potential eligibility, given the new separation of cash benefits from Medi-Cal benefits,the fact that these'beneficiaries have not been asked to provide income documentation to social services for almost a year, and the sheer number of beneficiaries whom counties will need to reach. Moreover, we understand the DHS is conducting training for county workers around the state>on the 1931 (b)eligibility process, and that a number of questions have arisen during these sessions which require further clarification. Accordingly, we strongly,urge that the policy for review of aid codes 38 and 3C, as set out in All County Letter 98-43 (September 30, 1998), be modified in the following ways: Beneficiaries should be given additional time to return the paperwork necessary for counties to review and re-establish Medi-Cal eligibility. The current guidelines only provide until the end of Grandand Johmon Page 2 Februa 1 7, 1999 January; after this,beneficiaries are to be automatically disenrolled. An extension would allow county agencies and others additional time to mach eligible beneficiaries who may have moved or who need more information and assistance to respond to mailings from the social services agency. Counties should be given a full year to review all of the aid code 38 and 3C redetermination cases, in accordancewith the request of the County Welfare Directors Association. County social services departments are already under serious staffing pressures as they confront the challenges of welfare reform, and counties have nearly universally indicated that they need the full year to complete the eligibility verification process. In the interim,we urge you to communicate immediately with counties and instruct them not to terminate any beneficiary in aid codes 38 and 3C until you and the new DHS Director have an opportunity to review the state's policy on this subject. The health insurance status of close to 400,000 Californians,the vast majority of whom are still expected to be eligible for Medi-Cal,is at risk. We urge you to take immediate action to prevent their disenrollment and promote a reasonable timefraime for counties to establish ongoing eligibility for these individuals. Sincerely, �T414 VOf , Chair visors 40a SC.jI cc: Tim Gage,Director, California Department of Finance Members,Board of Supervisors Milt Camhi, CEO, Contra Costa Health Plan