NEWS

61,000 Ohioans could lose Medicaid in days

Jessie Balmert
Gannett Ohio

About 61,000 Ohioans will find themselves booted off Medicaid in March for not properly verifying their income.

Federal law requires individuals on Medicaid to redetermine their eligibility for the program every 12 months. These regular checks of whether a person makes the appropriate income were waived for several months as the federal health care law was rolled out and Ohio's new benefits eligibility system was established.

But that requirement has been reinstated, and those who have not verified their incomes — about 61,000 across the state — will lose benefits after Feb. 28. It's not clear how many of those people are dropping off the rolls because they are no longer eligible or how many came from the Medicaid expansion population, Ohio Department of Medicaid spokesman Sam Rossi said.

In December, Medicaid officials sent 170,000 Ohioans details on how to verify their income to ensure they still qualified for the program. Officials sent a second notice of renewal in early 2015 and a final notice of termination about three weeks ago to about 65,000 Ohioans, according to the Ohio Department of Medicaid.

One-fourth of the initial letters were returned for bad addresses; individuals are responsible for notifying their county offices if they move, Rossi said.

Those who are kicked off the rolls have 60 days to re-verify their income to receive retroactive benefits. After 60 days, they could still enroll in Medicaid, but there would be a gap in coverage.

A new batch of Medicaid enrollees will have to verify their income each month as required by federal law.

Individuals who have questions about verification can contact their county job and family services office, call the Ohio Medicaid Consumer Hotline at 800-324-8680, or visit www.ohiomh.com.

jbalmert@gannett.com

740-328-8548

Twitter: @jbalmert