Loss of Medicaid Eligibility

Your assistance and advocacy are needed.

The Department of Public Welfare (DPW) has looked for ways to cut spending. Much effort has been put into finding "fraud, waste and abuse".

It was recently reported by DPW that at least 100,000 Medicaid "cases" were closed when redeterminations of eligibility were sent to people who were given 10 days in which to respond.

It is necessary to find people who lost their Medicaid eligibility in order to find out if the case closures were done properly or improperly. Most people who use Medicaid are children, women, and people with disabilities. They need the Medicaid benefits.

Impact to People with Behavioral Health Diagnoses

PMHCA collaborated with Disability Rights Network of PA, Mental Health Association in PA, NAMI Southwestern PA, PA Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, and the PA Behavioral Health and Aging Coalition to request additional information about how people with behavioral health diagnoses have been affected by the new redetermination policy. Read letters sent to DPW Secretary Gary Alexander and OMHSAS Deputy Secretary Blaine Smith on January 6, 2012.

Share Your Story

We are working with several organizations to find stories of people who had their Medicaid cases closed. Please send us your story or the stories of other people who have Medicaid cases that were:

• Closed sometime between July 2011 and the present
• Closed for noncompliance with the redetermination process (meaning that the individual allegedly did not return their redetermination/re-evaluation/SAR paperwork)

In order to decide the best way to advocate for those people who have lost their benefit, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia is compiling information about people who have lost their benefits. Your name will not be used without prior approval from you by Community Legal Services.

Complete the Questionnaire

Community Legal Services of Philadelphia developed a questionnaire that is available online. If you prefer, print and complete the paper version of the questionnaire and send it to either PMHCA or CLS.

Questions

Please contact Lynn Keltz or Pat Madigan at PMHCA with questions, or Justine Elliot, Staff Attorney, Community Legal Services.