nebraska medicaid and the impact of the affordable care act on eligibility
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Nebraska Medicaid and the Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Eligibility. Nebraska Association of Health Underwriters February 18, 2014. Introduction and Agenda. Ruth Vineyard, Deputy Director Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Nebraska Medicaid and the Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Eligibility
Nebraska Association of Health UnderwritersFebruary 18, 2014
1
Introduction and Agenda• Ruth Vineyard, Deputy Director
• Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, • Division of Medicaid and Long Term Care (MLTC)
• Our focus today will be on Medicaid Eligibility and the impact of the Affordable Care Act
2
Introduction and Agenda• Agenda Overview• Medicaid Program• Medicaid Eligibility Overview• ACA Impact on Medicaid Eligibility• Current Status of Medicaid and the Marketplace• Questions
3
• Medicaid and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program)• Home and Community Based Services• State Unit on Aging
Division of Medicaid and Long-Term Care
• Administered by the Department of Health and Human Services
• Provides health care services to eligible elderly and disabled individuals and eligible low-income pregnant women, children and parents
• Pays for covered services for those persons who cannot afford to pay for medically necessary services and who meet certain eligibility requirements
Medicaid Program
Medicaid Program• Jointly funded with Federal Government and State dollars• Federal Government sets rules in statute and regulations that
give states some flexibility to administer the program• Federal Government has oversight responsibilities to ensure
federal dollars are spent consistent with federal regulations• State Medicaid programs are responsible for
administration/operations of Medicaid• Medicaid is always the payer of last resort• No open enrollment period
6
Medicaid Eligibility Overview• Medicaid is a means tested program however, individuals
must first qualify for a category of eligibility.• People Served and Eligibility Groups Pre-ACA• Aged and disabled • Low-income pregnant women• Children • Parents
Individuals who meet a category of eligibility must meet income and for some populations, resource tests.
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Medicaid Eligibility Overview
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7.5%13.2%
15.3%
64.0%
Medicaid Enrollees by PopulationRoughly 240,000 Total
AgedAdultsBlind/DisabledChildren
Medicaid Eligibility Overview
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20.7%
7.5%
44.7%
27.1%
Medicaid Expenditures by PopulationRoughly $1.8B
AgedAdultsBlind/DisabledChildren
Pre-ACA Eligibility Process
10
Consumer fills out NE
application, submits to NE
Medicaid
Does documentation
support eligibility criteria?
Screen application
for eligibility criteria such as income
or disability
Contact applicant
for documents to support eligibility criteria
Enroll in MedicaidTransfer
Yes
NoDeny
Medicaid eligibility
ACA Impact -Medicaid Eligibility• Insurance Marketplace for Each State• Single Streamlined Application• “No Wrong Door”• New Standard Method of Calculating Income• Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)• No Resource Tests• Real-Time Eligibility Determination• Medicaid Eligible People not Eligible for APTC/CSR with
Exchange Plans• Interaction with Insurance Marketplace• Consumer Support• What About the ABD Population?
11
ACA Impact -Medicaid EligibilityMandatory Insurance Marketplace
• All states must implement an insurance Marketplace and offer Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) as defined in the ACA
• State option for Marketplace model• State Based Exchange (SBE)• Federal Partnership Marketplace• Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM)
• Nebraska chose an FFM• Significant interaction/coordination required between
Nebraska’s Medicaid program and the Federally Facilitated Marketplace
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• Medicaid and the Marketplace will use the same application• Single Application, created and approved by the Secretary
of DHHS• Applications may be completed on-line, on paper, in person
or over the phone
ACA Impact-Medicaid EligibilitySingle Streamlined Application
ACA Impact -Medicaid Eligibility“No Wrong Door”
• Individuals can apply at the Marketplace or Medicaid and be routed to the most appropriate coverage for their circumstance
• Significant coordination between the Marketplace and Medicaid are required to support eligibility determination, appeals and to answer consumer questions
• “Better Door” approach by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
14
ACA Impact -Medicaid EligibilityModified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)
• MAGI is a federally defined, mandated way to calculate income for eligibility determinations
• All states and the FFM must calculate income using MAGI• Although minor, there are some differences in the way the
FFM and Medicaid programs must calculate income• No resource test required for eligibility. Only current income
counts.• Switch to MAGI necessitated significant changes to computer
systems and eligibility determination business processes • MAGI only applies to certain eligibility groups (Children, Parent
Caretakers, Pregnant Women)
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ACA Impact -Medicaid EligibilityEligibility Groups
• ACA as written by congress mandated Medicaid coverage for all adults 0 – 133% FPL
• Supreme Court ruling made this coverage optional, at State discretion (Funding could not be withheld)
• Nebraska has opted to not cover this population
• The ACA added Former Foster Children as a mandatory eligibility group
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ACA Impact -Medicaid EligibilityReal-Time Eligibility Determination
• ACA requires, where possible, real-time eligibility determination
• Key pieces of information, such as income, is electronically verified against a federal data hub to increase speed of eligibility determination.
• Previously, paper documentation was used to verify application information
• This shift to real-time determination causes a significant impact to Medicaid systems and workflow
17
ACA Impact -Medicaid EligibilityAPTC/CSR
• ACA provides Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC) and Cost Sharing Reductions (CSR) to help individuals with income at or below 400% FPL pay for health costs
• If an individual is eligible for Medicaid, (s)he cannot be eligible for APTC/CSR.
• This requires all individuals applying for a Marketplace plan, that requests APTC/CSR to undergo a Medicaid eligibility assessment or determination
• Significant coordination required between Marketplace and Medicaid
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“No Wrong Door” – Simple Case
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Federal Marketplace
State Medicaid
Consumer fills out
application, submits to
Marketplace
Consumer fills out
application, submits to Medicaid
OR
Medicaid determination :
Medicaid eligible?
Notify consumer and enroll in
Medicaid.
Notify consumer, transfer
application to marketplace
Consumer covered by Medicaid
Assess for Medicaid: Potentially
eligible?Yes
No
Notify consumer, transfer
application to Medicaid
Notify consumer and enroll in QHP on Marketplace.
Consumer covered by
Marketplace
Transfer
Transfer
No
Yes
Transfer
“No Wrong Door” – Complex Case
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Federal Marketplace
State Medicaid
Family fills out one
application, submits to
Marketplace
Family fills out one
application, submits to Medicaid
OR
Medicaid determination, each member:
Medicaid eligible? Notify family,
enroll only Medicaid eligible
members.
Notify family, transfer only non-Medicaid eligible
members to marketplace
Some members
covered by Medicaid
Assess each member: Potentially Medicaid eligible? Yes
No
Notify family, transfer only
potential Medicaid members
Notify family, enroll non-Medicaid
members in QHP.
Some members
covered by Marketplace
Transfer
Transfer
No
Yes
Transfer
ACA Impact -Medicaid EligibilityConsumer Support
• No wrong door allows consumers to contact Marketplace or state Medicaid agency to obtain information about eligibility
• Necessitates cross-training on Marketplace eligibility and Medicaid eligibility
• Requires coordinated tracking of issues to ensure consumers are not bounced between Marketplace help desk and Medicaid help desk
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ACA Impact -Medicaid EligibilityAid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled (AABD)Population
• Eligibility rules unchanged under ACA• AABD population are MAGI exempt• Still requires a qualifying medical condition for eligibility
• However, due to ACA mandated single streamline application, AABD applicants must fill out a different form than other Medicaid applicants
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ACA Impact -Nebraska• New application• New eligibility rules• Changes to business processes• Changes to systems• Training for staff• Significant interaction with Marketplace
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ACA Timeline -Nebraska
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ACA Becomes
Law
NE Begins Planning
NE Goes FFM
Implement FFM
Integration
Go Live
Begin Eligibility Replacement
SystemNew
Eligibility System
Live
Mar 2010
April 2010
Nov 2012 Oct 2013 Jan 2016
Nov 2012 – Oct 2013 Oct 2013
ACA Impact -Nebraska• Issues to Watch Moving Forward• FFM Not Ready for Account Transfers• Causing significant additional work for Medicaid eligibility
workers• Causing consumer confusion• Causing delays getting people covered
• Work-arounds• New “check-box” on application• Medicaid Eligibility Check
25
“Better Door”, Current Status
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Federal Marketplace
State Medicaid
Consumer fills out
application, submits to
Marketplace
Consumer fills out
application, submits to Medicaid
OR
Medicaid determination :
Medicaid eligible?
Notify consumer and enroll in
Medicaid.
Notify consumer, transfer
application to marketplace
Consumer covered by Medicaid
Assess for Medicaid: Potentially
eligible?Yes
No
Notify consumer, transfer
application to Medicaid
Notify consumer and enroll in QHP on Marketplace.
Consumer covered by
Marketplace
Transfer
Transfer
No
Yes
Transfer
X
Questions?
27