Massachusetts

Massachusetts:  MaxEnroll Initiative

The Within Our Grasp: Achieving Full Insurance for Massachusetts initiative led by the Massachusetts Office of Medicaid, in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, seeks to enhance eligibility and enrollment systems and processes while also workign to enroll and retain children, adults, and new populations into health coverage thought implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Massachusetts.

The initial phase of the Maximizing Enrollment program focussed on an assessment of the strengths and oppurtunities for improvement in each grantee state's enrollment and retention systems. Massachusetts' assessment determined the following:

Strengths:

• Single/seamless paper Medical Benefit Request and online Virtual Gateway application process for Medicaid, CHIP and Commonwealth Care and other public benefits
• Integrated Medicaid and CHIP agency
• Ongoing collaboration between MassHealth, advocacy, community, and legislature on policy and program changes

Challenges:

• Need to increase retention for continuity of care
• Under-utilization of data in indentifying barriers and monitoring program/policy changes
• Difficulty in navigation of application/renewal process for some families
• Understanding the technical abilities of the target populations and creating easy-to-use, do-it-yourself technology

Goals for Improvement:

• Increase retention
• Improve capacity and use of data
• Improve customer service and enhance customer interface
• Enhance agency collaboration

Key Activites:

• Evaluate and implement streamlined renewal options, such as administrative renewal, to increase retention
• Developing plan to utlize SNAP data for Express Lane renewal process that includes both children and adults
• Pilot telephone renewals
• Conduct consumer surveys or focus groups to identify barriers and improvement opportunities
• Statewide roll-out of Electronic Document Management (EDM) system
• Implementation of SSA match for citizenship and identity
• Implementation of customer-facing Virtual Gateway screening tool and customer-facing My Account Page (MAP) member change form
• Create formalized links to ongoing Exchange Planning/Establishment and Early Innovator initiatives

Alignment with Reform:

• "One front door" to access health coverage
• Increated data matching, real-time access to date, and agency coordination
• Paper reduction through EDM and administrative and Express Lane Renewal
• Awarded $35.6 M Early Innovator Grant
• Awarded $110 M Money Follows the Person rebalancing grant

Click here for a profile of Massachusetts’ Medicaid and CHIP programs and to learn about the state’s enrollment and renewal simplification strategies.

“The Maximizing Enrollment for Kids initiative provides the MassHealth program with a valuable opportunity to learn from other states who share our goal of ensuring full utilization of Medicaid by those eligible.” – Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, 2008