As deadline looms, 15 percent losing Medicaid find new coverage

Arielle Levin Becker :: CTMirror file photo

Access Health’s New Britain store

Connecticut’s health insurance exchange announced Thursday about 15 percent of low-income parents set to lose their state-sponsored Medicaid coverage at the end of July have transitioned to new insurance plans.

Officials said 2,134 affected parents and caregivers have enrolled in a different state-sponsored Medicaid plan or a new plan through the exchange, Access Health CT.

The Department of Social Services estimates 13,811 parents will lose their HUSKY A coverage when the eligibility levels become more stringent on Aug. 1.

Original estimates showed about 18,000 parents would lose their health coverage, but a reassessment in late May found the number had dropped by about 4,000. Currently, parents making less than 201 percent of the poverty level are eligible for coverage. The threshold will drop to 155 percent at the end of the month.

While the number expected to be affected has decreased, officials are still moving forward with outreach efforts. They believe putting affected parents in direct contact with officials is essential to helping with the transition.

“These individuals who have not signed up need to do so as soon as possible,” said James Wadleigh, CEO of Access Health.  “Nearly 75 percent of those who have enrolled in a . . . plan did so with a broker and roughly 80 percent had a past interaction with the call center.”

Of the 2,134 parents who have made the transition, 1,499 have enrolled in a new Medicaid plan while 635 will transition to a private health plan through a provider on the exchange.

Access Health began planning efforts to help parents with the transition in December. Officials have sent letters and postcards to those affected and will begin making calls to those who still have not made the transition on July 11.

In addition, they also scheduled seven enrollment fairs in cities across the state to give affected parents direct access to resources they may need to transition but only one person attended the first two.