skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Keeping Older Wyoming Residents from Losing Nursing Home Coverage

play audio
Play

Wednesday, April 12, 2023   

Congress has put an end to a pandemic-era policy prohibiting states from dropping Medicaid recipients from their rolls, and 15 million people in Wyoming and across the U.S. are expected to lose their health insurance, even if they are eligible.

Wyoming Medicaid covers more than 5,000 older adults receiving care in home or at assisted living facilities.

Lee Grossman, state Medicaid agent for the Wyoming Department of Health, encouraged people to update their eligibility information, and to keep an eye on their mailbox.

"Reach out to us and provide that information when we reach out to them via mail," Grossman advised. "Our goal is to make sure that older adults in Wyoming, that they continue their coverage if they are indeed still eligible for this program."

Nearly half of those expected to be dropped from Medicaid rolls are people of color. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people are expected to lose coverage in Wyoming. Grossman pointed out his agency started sending out eligibility redetermination notices March 1, a month before the automatic renewal policy ended. He expects the move to return the program to pre-pandemic levels.

You can update your information online at wesystem.wyo.gov or by calling 855-203-2936.

The automatic renewal policy helped bring the nation's number of uninsured families to its lowest level on record. Grossman said people who lose coverage may be eligible for coverage through the federal exchange at HealthCare.gov.

"And for children in particular, we also have the Wyoming Kid Care CHIP program, which covers a higher eligibility threshold for income than Wyoming Medicaid does," Grossman noted.

Wyoming is one of 10 states opting not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which would tap federal funding to provide coverage for some 19,000 workers caught in a coverage gap when they earn too much to qualify for regular Medicaid, but not enough to afford market rates.

Grossman emphasized his agency is working directly with nursing homes and community based waiver programs.

"The main message we want to make sure that Wyoming Medicaid clients are aware of, is to please reach out to us if they have had a change in their contact information," Grossman urged. "We want to make sure that no one loses eligibility for procedural reasons."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021