The (Anderson) Herald Bulletin
Three national organizations recently released a report on the challenges states should be watching out for as individuals begin to lose their Medicaid eligibility in the wake of the pandemic.
The Center for Popular Democracy, Make the Road New York and People’s Action Institute teamed up for a survey of nearly 3,000 Medicaid recipients nationwide. The Indiana Capital Chronicle last month published a story on the findings.
The report quotes Heather Maritano, a mental health provider in Bloomington, who said dealing with Medicaid was like playing “insurance cat and mouse.”
“So if you take traditional Medicaid, your reimbursement rate is going to be about half to a third of what the going rate is,” she said.
On top of that, she said, the systems are more difficult to navigate and medical professionals wind up having to hire extra staff or spend more of their own time and energy dealing with paperwork.
Anna Lisa Gross, pastor at a Fort Wayne church, recalled a series of surgeries she had in 2020. After applying for financial aid at IU Health, she got a letter saying her medical debt would be canceled.
“I was happy to the point of tears,” she told the authors of the report. “I would be able to breathe and focus on important matters.”
Her joy was fleeting.
“Shortly after that, I received a letter from Harris and Harris, a debt collection agency,” she said. “I was informed that I had an outstanding debt of nearly $5,000 with IU Health from Anthem for these first three surgeries. Double what I had even known.”
Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration reports roughly one in three Hoosiers relies on Medicaid. Those numbers swelled during the pandemic because of a federal provision to keep patients insured. In exchange for an enhanced federal match, Indiana and other states agreed not to let anyone’s coverage lapse regardless of their financial situation.
That rule expired in April, meaning states could start removing people from their rolls. Nearly 53,000 Hoosiers lost coverage May 1, and the advocacy group Hoosier Action projects that number could eventually top 600,000. Many of those about to lose coverage are still eligible, but they have to re-enroll to remain part of the program, and many aren’t aware of that requirement.
The report concludes with a number of recommendations, including that the federal government require states like Indiana to increase their reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers. That’s an issue the state is already addressing.
Lawmakers in the recent session created an interim study committee to compare Indiana’s Medicaid reimbursement rates with those of other states. As a result, some providers will see increases in their reimbursements in the coming months.
Indiana’s leaders should be applauded for the efforts they have made to ensure Hoosiers get the care they need, but there is more to do, including better outreach and cutting red tape. Reports like this one will point the way.