Listen
Nearly 20,000 people have been removed from Washington’s Medicaid rolls for ineligibility. The purge happened after the state stepped up efforts to verify residency and income levels.
Over the summer, Washington’s Health Care Authority experimented with using the research firm LexisNexis as an additional way to check the residency status of Medicaid recipients. Based on that, 64,000 accounts were flagged.
“Something in their financial history or rental history or something is showing out of state addresses,” said Mary Wood, an assistant Medicaid director who oversees eligibility.
Letters were sent to those individuals asking them to verify they live in Washington. Of those, 18,000 didn’t respond or couldn’t prove their residency and were removed from the Medicaid rolls. Others lost coverage after the Medicaid program beefed up its income eligibility reviews.
The purge means that for 2018, Medicaid enrollment may drop by nearly 3 percent. Under the Affordable Care Act, Washington’s Medicaid population has surged to nearly 2 million people.
Related Stories:
Pierce County Deputy Killed Near Tacoma In Confrontation With Burglary Suspects
A burglary investigation that began Sunday night south of Tacoma in Frederickson ended with the death of Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel McCartney of Yelm, Wash. Read More » Lisa Brooks January 8, 2018
Evergreen State College Copes With Fallout, Months After ‘Day Of Absence’ Sparked National Debate
Students and staff at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, are teasing out how to define and express issues of racism and oppression on campus almost one year after an annual event there provoked a national conversation on free speech and civil rights. Read More » PBS Newshour January 8, 2018
Money From Washington Carbon Tax Should Go to Rural Areas, DNR Commissioner Says
Washington’s commissioner of public lands is calling on the state legislature to put a price on carbon to try to curb emissions in the state. But Hilary Franz differs with Gov. Jay Inslee about how to use the money. Read More » Eilís O'Neil January 8, 2018