UCare is awarding grants to healthcare organizations across Minnesota to help them prepare for the impact of upcoming Medicaid redeterminations.
The nation has been under continuous Medicaid enrollment since early 2020. On April 1, states will be allowed to begin determining who is and is not eligible for the program. Recent estimates have said that up to 18 million people could lose coverage over the course of about a year.
Minneapolis-based UCare said Jan. 25 it is proactively providing 16 grants to health systems, community organizations and clinics to mitigate the impact of the policy change, including Mayo Clinic, CentraCare, Essentia Health and Olmsted Medical Center.
Specifically, the funding will be used to expand member outreach and communication programs, support immigrant communities needing assistance navigating the issue, and hire additional staff dedicated to the redetermination process.
In a survey released Nov. 15 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 62 percent of Medicaid members or those with family enrolled said they have heard nothing about future Medicaid redeterminations.
The Federal Communications Commission also said Jan. 23 that federal and state governments — as well as their partners — can now make Medicaid enrollment calls and text messages without violating robocall and robotext prohibitions.