![Maureen Corcoran, director of the Medicaid Department of Ohio, will discuss with the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee. Ohio Statehouse September 19, 2019.[Eric Albrecht/Dispatch]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/04/26/NCOD/6d70a090-9ba9-41f4-b264-157db81c3ccd-PA_jmoc_ea4.JPG?width=660&height=442&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Ohio’s revamped and reformed Medicaid Managed Care System is due for launch in July. However, given the potential crisis that many may launch Medicaid, the state has postponed most of its reforms to the end of this year.
Lauren Antes, chair of the Medicaid Policy Center at Community Solutions, said: ..
Medicaid is a government-paid health insurance policy for over 3 million low-income or disabled Ohio people, usually the largest spending in the state, totaling billions of dollars. The “next generation” system is the result of an extensive process launched in 2019, looking at ways to overhaul the system after years of problems and lack of reform.
One of these reforms will continue in July, according to the Ohio Medicaid Authority. OhioRISE is a new compensation system for treating children with serious behavioral and mental problems, eliminating the need for parents to relinquish custody.
But all other more complex changes, such as a single pharmacy benefit manager to prevent prescription drug “brokers” from overcharging taxpayers, will not happen until October at the earliest. Hmm. The same applies to the two to three new health insurance options that enter the system. AmeriHealthCaritas, Humana, and AnthemBlueCross and BlueShield.
Why are you late?
The July launch date could coincide with the end of the federal government’s COVID-19 state of emergency, which prevented the state from expelling ineligible people from Medicaid. Once that is done, almost everyone needs to undergo an eligibility check. This is a daunting task for understaffed systems and can be confusing if Ohio is still insured.
Spreading Medicaid’s reforms later this year can prevent disaster scenarios where both eligibility checks and new reforms fail at the same time, said Medicaid policy expert Antes.
“It’s important that the reforms and improvements embodied in next-generation programs are not compromised because they can be launched in a hurry or disrupt communication,” the Medicaid department said in a letter sent to lawmakers. Said.
Despite the later timeline, Medicaid participants can still choose to enroll in one of the new plan options, said department spokesman Lisa Laures. They will remain in their current health insurance until the end of the year when the switch occurs.
The start date of the new system has been postponed earlier, and some lawmakers are concerned about how long it will take to implement. But the department claims they are not in a hurry.
“Doing this right is more important than meeting the administratively imposed timeline,” it told lawmakers.
Titus Wu is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, serving the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal, and 18 relevant news organizations throughout Ohio.
