We noted last week that the universal health-coverage program in Massachusetts has helped grow the number of insured there. But the program has also hit a bureaucratic snag, the Boston Globe reports: Tens of thousands of patients have had their coverage terminated, in some cases because of errors by the patients or the state government.
Lots of those affected appear to be participants in Commonwealth Care, which covers people who don�t have access to employer-sponsored health coverage and earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. Those folks have to renew their insurance annually and tell the state every time they change jobs.
In some cases, patients have messed up filling out forms, patient advocates say. In others, the state has sent people�s mail to the wrong place. In still others, the state has misinterpreted information on the forms and mistakenly bounced people out of the program.
An example: The Globe examined the case of a patient whose employer was deducting money from her paycheck to send to Commonwealth Care � but the employer was getting the premium bill on the day it was due. Even though the bill was being paid, the patient was marked as delinquent and was bumped from coverage for four months.
Melissa Boudreault, director of Commonwealth Care, told the Globe there have been fewer than 100 wrongful terminations brought to the attention of the state agency that regulates the program. She noted that the state is overhauling the computer system that runs Commonwealth Care and the state�s Medicaid program, which should help with the issue. A spokeswoman for the state Medicaid program said the state is working to refine its mailing system and develop a reminder system and simpler renewal paperwork.
More info
