Washington • More than 14,000 low-income childless adults in Arizona lost state-provided health coverage last month, the biggest drop since the state froze enrollment in the health coverage program in July.
Enrollment has dropped from 217,718 to 192,011 since the state stopped accepting new applicants and began blocking re-enrollment from people in the program who fail to renew coverage.
Community health advocates said the number, while considerable, is less than they had originally feared.
“We’ve managed to keep a lot of people who they thought would be dropped by this time,” said Tara McCollum Plese, director of government and media relations for the Arizona Association of Community Health Centers.
“Now with that said, we are just getting inundated with calls from people who have lost this coverage,” Plese said.
Monica Coury, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, said the numbers “are in the ballpark of where we were estimating.”
Plese and Coury credit the lower-than-expected reduction in the rolls to the “Don’t get dropped AZ!” campaign, which aims to reduce the amount of “churn” in the state’s Medicaid rolls.
AHCCCS estimates that about 70,000 people leave the program and another 70,000 are added in a typical month — the churn rate. But under the new rules, childless adults who fall off the rolls would lose their coverage because they would be prevented from re-enrolling.
“They don’t realize that when they get dropped off this time and they don’t (renew coverage) in a timely manner, they will be dropped off permanently,” Plese said. She believes that those who are unaware of that change “are the ones that have been dropped off” the rolls.
“Don’t get dropped AZ!” is a partnership of community groups that came together to help people understand the changes in the law and maintain their AHCCCS coverage. Coury said the state has provided the campaign technical assistance and guidance on the renewal process.
“They’ve been doing a terrific job,” Coury said.
The childless-adults program covers adults who are not eligible for Medicaid, but have income less than the federal poverty level — $10,890 for a single person in 2011. Arizona is one of six states that cover this group, but it is the only one that sought to limit its coverage because of state budgetary constraints.
The disabled, elderly and mentally ill who have been covered under the program will continue to receive coverage by being transferred into other AHCCCS programs. More than 8,000 enrollees were transferred into other programs when the freeze took effect.
The enrollment freeze was implemented on July 8 after it received federal approval. It is expected to save the state $190 million over 12 months, the biggest savings in Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid reform plan.
But health advocates believe the savings are misguided because the cost to the healthcare system is inflated by lost federal matching funds, which provide two dollars for every dollar the state invests in Medicaid.
Plese said the cuts to the childless-adult program hurt coverage for a population with “very critical health needs,” such as chronic illnesses and cancer.
“These are not people that are just looking for healthcare coverage,” she said. “They’re people who went into AHCCCS because they really need medical care.”
Max Levy is a reporter for Cronkite News Service.
Airrosezona posted at 11:27 pm on Mon, Oct 17, 2011.
What a coincidence that this story (and I mean STORY as in fairytale) would appear this evening. I have been in and out of the AHCCCS on and off for many years dependent on my employment status and (you guessed it) child support. Since the check wasn't always in the mail (a whole other STORY) and having 4 of 5 children still living at home during those years, I was one of those participants that was "churned" through the system. I have been trying to regain AHCCCS since December of 2010 due to health conditions and the need to see a physician and the stress of dealing with the DES employees is unbelievable. I am a fulltime student studying Medical Billing & Coding, with 1 child remaining at home now and no job at the current time. I have been doing anything and everything possible to bring in some sort of cash just to cope day to day. The DES enrollment has dropped, not due to Arizonan's failing to re-new, but rather due to the failures of the DES to do their job. Ten months of carefully monitoring every letter, phone call--or lack of the promised return call, standing in long lines that never moved, waiting for the "purple team" to return a phone call or send a letter designating your SCHEDULED INTERVIEW AS REQUIRED BY 7 CFR 273.2 which never happened and following instructions that were given over and over again and getting the same results back from the DES---nothing .... except denial letters which were generated automatically before their time. I have been in contact with the Ombudsman that oversees this department on several occasions over the past 5 years and amazingly withing 30 minutes or less, I get a phone call from my case worker...go figure. After doing everything asked of me again for the third month in a row (AUG_SEP_OCT) I had to once (twice) again call the ombudsman for help. First of all, requiring applicants to call for an interview at a number that isn't answered, a message box that isn't taking any messages, and actually getting a human that rudely transfers you to an extension that doesn't answer or hangs up on you is all a farce. Required scheduled interviews do not exist in their minds although their job requirements say they MUST. Standing in line just to drop off paperwork withno need to see a worker is unnecessary and only a ploy the DES is using to scare applicants away. After standing for 3 1/2 hours both out in the hot sun and finally inside this past Friday, I realized what their game was and why they were doing it. For the second time in the past year I heard the security guard announce at closing time "Not to worry, if you're in already you will be seen, the caseworkers will stay overtime til the last person has been seen". Half the the people in there didn't even need to see anyone, they had already been interviewed and were merely dropping off requested paperwork or had to be fingerprinted. The occupancy level was set at 50 although there were over 60 people in the room over the 3 1/2 hours I stood there...taking minute by minute notes... and let's not forget the 20-30 people still waiting outside in the heat... Two workers rotating outside to sit on their butts just writing down the applicants name on a piece of paper...that's it...just that and nothing else. We could have done that ourselves and saved the taxpayers the cost of payroll PLUS OVERTIME for at least 2 DES employees thereby reducing the costs to the state! Approximately 6 window areas at the front desk with workers in about 4 of them at a time and maybe just one of them actually talking to an applicant--although not helpful at all. How many employees were hidden behind the "door" nobody really knows but at the rate they were not going whoever was behind that door wasn't very good at their job. Can you see where this is going? I had to call the Ombudsman when I couldn't stand it anymore and tell her once again the deficiencies and blatant refusals to follow Federal Regulations as well as their job requirements that we as applicants had to put up with. The better than thou attitude that emminates from each employee is reprehensible. They work for us not the other way around. Amazingly Monday morning (today) I received 2 phone calls that hung up before the voice message ever had a chance to come on and these calls were back to back--just one minute from each other. Needless to say I was outside when this occurred and when I came in I immediately called back--a whole bunch of times. When I finally did get a human, (you guessed it) he transfered me and I was now having to speak to a mailbox. I left a very lenghty message.... I wonder who is going to respond to it. The bottom line is the DES employees bottom line...unnecessary overtime for jobs not done, abuse against citizens, and total disregard to the Federal Regulations and job requirements, fraud fraud fraud against the state and against the citizens. I have documentation and have spoken to many others who have gone through the same ordeals. I'm willing to bet my life that if surveys were taken outside each office around the valley that the workers were unaware were happening, you would get 100 out of 100 applicants giving the same dreadful story of how this state agency mistreats them, fails to follow through and denies before it's time. Total reorganization is needed---the MVD used to be alot like the DES and they figured it out so perhaps the state should utilize the same system and get the job done without the lies and deceit that currently describes the DES employees now. Account for the 250 plus applicants on a daily basis who have given up 8 hours of income for at least 3 days, 5 days per week.... At $7/hr x 8 hrs x 250 x 5 = $70,000 in lost revenue PER WEEK for those people who really needed it. Now how much money is being expended for payroll for non-working employees who claim over-time? The DES is depriving the citizens of AZ $3,640,000 of just minimum wage to take off work unnecessarily in addition to let's say 25 employees at average $15.00/hr x 8 hrs x 5 days = $15,000 PLUS OVERTIME per week which comes out to $780,000 PLUS OVERTIME per year and that's just ONE OFFICE! I could say so much more as I have every piece of paper that department has sent me for years dating back to the early 90's (minus the years I wasn't in need of their services) and I took names and notes. I know what this agency needs to do that will save taxpayers money AND assist everyone legally able to receive that assistance AND be under budget. No one should be denied if they meet all the requirements-period! Who is policing the thieves in the DES?