A New Era Of Paperless Medicaid Enrollment Is Launched In New York City

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance;  IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 07 Dec 2009 - 23:00 PDT

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Thousands of New York City residents are receiving faster, more timely access to health care coverage, thanks to a new paperless enrollment system -- Facilitated Enrollment Electronic Application (FEEA™) -- that has been embraced by Health Plus, a leading New York City provider of public health insurance. Health Plus is the first health plan in both New York City and New York State to use FEEA to process paperless applications for Medicaid Managed Care, Family Health Plus, and Child Health Plus. Thanks to this technology, applications now can be approved in just two weeks, compared to 45-90 days for paper-based applications.

"When someone applies for public health insurance for themselves or their children, they shouldn't have to wait 45 to 90 days for approval while different government offices re-enter data from paper applications," notes Georganne Chapin, President & CEO of the Hudson Center for Health Equity & Quality, the not-for-profit developer and licensor of FEEA. Ms. Chapin further praises Health Plus for its commitment to streamlining the enrollment process. "Health Plus has proven beyond a doubt that electronic applications can be approved in an average of just two weeks. You don't need all that paper. It just slows things down."

Basically, FEEA is an e-application, which means that applicant information, such as demographics and important eligibility information, is entered only once and -- subsequently and automatically -- replicated wherever necessary, throughout the many interrelated City and State IT systems. Required documentation, such as a birth certificate, is electronically scanned and linked with the application, which eliminates lost or misplaced documentation, a common occurrence in the paper-based enrollment world.

FEEA reduces errors when calculating eligibility, and contains a built-in knowledge base to emphasize State eligibility guidelines, making it easier for facilitated enrollers and consumers to accurately determine if they qualify for a public program .

But what's most important is that the e-application can be transmitted directly to New York City's Human Resources Administration and then on to New York State without the need to re-enter data.

FEEA also makes it easier to recertify members. Instead of preparing a recertification application from scratch, Health Plus only has to update the enrollee's information online and resubmit it electronically, avoiding unnecessary disruptions in coverage.

More than 50 percent of new Health Plus members are enrolled using FEEA, according to Tom Early, Executive Director of Health Plus. The health plan expects to use it for all enrollment and recertification in 2010.

"Health plans like ours," says Tom Early, Executive Director of Health Plus, "have always used paper applications for the enrollment and recertification of current and prospective members, providing coverage to almost 300,000 people. This system was cumbersome and could allow for errors or omission of important documents. We have always looked for ways to simplify the enrollment process and avoid errors or missing documents. The new FEEA application provided by the Hudson Center allows us to do all of that and also, with the help of the New York City Human Resource Administration, cover previously uninsured New Yorkers more quickly by using this technology."

Source
The Hudson Center for Health Equity & Quality

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