Hospitals Start Marketing Outreach in Response to Resumption of Medicaid Redeterminations
As many as 24 million people could lose their Medicaid coverage by late 2024. Hospitals have a vested interest in making sure they stay on the rolls.
// By Ron Shinkman //
Providence has embarked on an ambitious outreach campaign with a singular goal: Keep its patients insured.
The Renton, Washington-based health system has printed thousands of fliers and postcards, and actively posted on social media and on blog pages to encourage patients to review their status in the Medicaid program as soon as possible. The materials, carefully written to be understood by anyone with an 8th grade reading ability, have been translated into the top 15 languages used in the seven Western states where Providence operates a total of 51 hospitals.
Whitney Haggerson, vice president, health equity and Medicaid at Providence
Providence is reacting to one of the biggest shakeups to U.S. health care delivery and insurance since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act a decade ago. It began in April, when the federal government allowed states to resume ongoing redeterminations for the tens of millions of enrollees in the Medicaid program.
“We started preparing for Medicaid redeterminations almost a year ago because we know health insurance coverage is an essential social determinant of health and foundational to ensuring equitable access to care,” says Whitney Haggerson, Providence’s vice president overseeing its health equity and Medicaid divisions. “We knew from reports that our most vulnerable communities could be disproportionately impacted by coverage loss if they do not know or understand the process they need to follow to reapply or find another option for health care coverage. We are hopeful that our efforts will help our patients stay covered.”