College of Human Environmental Science,
Department of Consumer and Family Economics,
University of Missouri Extension

Medicaid Changes Afoot in Missouri

The 2005 session of the Missouri Legislature brought sweeping changes to Medicaid. Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 539, which drastically cut both State and Federal Medicaid funding. The legislation also mandates that Medicaid end by June 30, 2008. Gov. Matt Blunt signed Senate Bill 539 into law on April 26, 2005.

The cuts mean the exit of some 100,000 Missourians from the Medicaid program. Most of those who remain will see a reduction in or elimination of certain benefits and services and/or new premiums and co-pays.

Proponents of the legislation cited waste, fraud and abuse as the reasons for the overhaul, while opponents argued that the changes unfairly punished large numbers of law-abiding people who need the program most. Missouri has drawn national attention for making the most drastic Medicaid cuts in the country.

Who is Losing Medicaid Coverage?
 

Beginning July 1, 2005, more than 102,500 low-income Missourians will lose their health insurance coverage as they are eliminated from Medicaid eligibility. All cuts will be fully implemented by September 1, 2005.

Some people who lose eligibility may still qualify under a different category. It is important to contact your caseworker if you receive a letter that says your coverage is being cancelled. Ask for an evaluation of your case to check your eligibility under another Medicaid program category.

If you believe there is a mistake or you do not understand why you are losing coverage, you have the right to ask for a hearing. The time limit for doing so will be included in cut-off letters.

According to Ferber, recipients from the following groups are being cut from the Medicaid program:

• 60, 714 low-income parents will lose coverage because of a reduction in eligibility income levels to Missouri’s “Temporary Assistance” eligibility limits. Limits range from 17% to 22% of the Federal poverty level. Parents in a family of three will lose Medicaid if they make more than $292 per month ($3,504 per year).

• 1,560 low-income workers will lose extended transitional medical assistance. This was an extra year of transitional medical assistance for those who lived under the poverty level but whose earnings disqualified them from regular Medicaid. People in this program were required to work and could not have had access to private, employer-based coverage.

• 3,046 people with temporary disabilities will be cut because medical assistance for general relief recipients is being eliminated. People used to qualify if they had almost no income and the state determined they were disabled and unemployable for at least ninety days.

• 9,529 working disabled individuals will lose coverage because the Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities (MAWD) program is being eliminated. This provided medical coverage to people with disabilities who were trying to transition back to work or who were able to work a limited number of hours.

• 14,607 elderly and disabled individuals will lose coverage because of a reduction of income eligibility to 85% of the Federal Poverty Level – about $678 per month. In addition, thousands may be moved to the Medicaid spenddown program. Those already in the spenddown program will have higher spenddown amounts.

• 13,609 individuals (8,998 children) will leave the Medicaid rolls because of reinvestigations and related paperwork requirements. As a part of the new annual investigative review process of the Medicaid program, the Family Support Division must send verification letters to Medicaid recipients to obtain updated information and specific documentation about their income. If the recipient does not provide the requested information within the 10-day time period, the recipient risks losing coverage.

The eligibility standard of 100% of the federal poverty level for Medicaid recipients who are blind will remain the same.

 Last update: Wednesday, August 24, 2005

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For additional information contact:
Brenda Procter, 573-882-3820; procterb@missouri.edu

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