20,000 People Booted From Washington Medicaid Rolls For Ineligibility
Listen
Nearly 20,000 people have been removed from Washington’s Medicaid rolls for ineligibility. The purge happened after the state stepped up efforts to verify residency and income levels.
Over the summer, Washington’s Health Care Authority experimented with using the research firm LexisNexis as an additional way to check the residency status of Medicaid recipients. Based on that, 64,000 accounts were flagged.
“Something in their financial history or rental history or something is showing out of state addresses,” said Mary Wood, an assistant Medicaid director who oversees eligibility.
Letters were sent to those individuals asking them to verify they live in Washington. Of those, 18,000 didn’t respond or couldn’t prove their residency and were removed from the Medicaid rolls. Others lost coverage after the Medicaid program beefed up its income eligibility reviews.
The purge means that for 2018, Medicaid enrollment may drop by nearly 3 percent. Under the Affordable Care Act, Washington’s Medicaid population has surged to nearly 2 million people.
Related Stories:
Hometown med student raising awareness for colorectal cancer testing
March is colorectal cancer awareness month. One soon-to-be medical graduate at Washington State University says he’s hoping to help raise awareness about screenings in his hometown before he graduates. Continue Reading Hometown med student raising awareness for colorectal cancer testing
Service changes begin March 31 for Pierce Transit, lack of funding means no new routes
This weekend, big service changes will go into effect for Pierce County’s public transportation system.
While Pierce Transit makes service changes throughout the year, Rebecca Japhet, who handles communications for the public transit operator, said these service changes are the biggest the company has made in seven years.
Continue Reading Service changes begin March 31 for Pierce Transit, lack of funding means no new routes
Lewiston-Clarkston Valley’s senior population could strain healthcare providers in coming years
The Lewiston-Clarkston valley, already known as one of the oldest population centers in the region, is even older than first thought. That could have big impacts in sectors including healthcare, transportation and housing. Continue Reading Lewiston-Clarkston Valley’s senior population could strain healthcare providers in coming years