Monday, 5 December 2005 Oahu Outstatoned Eligibility Workers Present: Fissiipeau Drummundo, Jane Chareunsaik, Karen Guerrero, Victoria Napuelua, Sheryl Atanes, Eve Williams, Dawn Tagaca, Jasmin Nepomuceno, Barbara Luksch, Hii Campbell, Dawn Reppuhn, Michelle Malufau, Christine Wong, and Debbie Wiss. 1. Announcements * It was requested that outstationed eligibility workers (OEWs) report to Med-QUEST all customers who have left Hawaii and address/telephone changes. They should use form 1179 and write as much information as possible. * Electronic Application: Barbara explained that a web-based version has been field-tested and can be used by other outstationed eligibility workers. Volunteers are welcome. * Common Questions and Answers Handout: It is continually updated and a PDF version can be downloaded from the Our Community section of the Hawaii Covering Kids web site. * The Process Simplification Task Force welcomes comments on the newly revised 1123. Please let Barbara know any suggested improvements. * Community training workshops on Med-QUEST’s processes are available for community health center and hospital staff. Those who previously attended indicated the session was extremely informative and they can better help their patients because they understand basic QUEST and Medicaid eligibility. Barbara distributed a flyer with information on arranging a free 90-minute workshop at the facility’s convenience. 2. Pregnant Women Applications * Feedback on processing was very positive with the current turnaround time one to three business days. *We discussed documents need for lawful permanent residents as mentioned in the question and answer handout referenced above: Question 4c. What immigration documents should be attached to the application? Med-QUEST accepts self-declaration for lawful permanent resident status and date of entry into the United States. However, community advocates highly recommend attaching a copy of the permanent resident card (“green card”) for each household member requesting health insurance. Med-QUEST has no link or interaction with U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, therefore if questions related to visa and/or immigration status arise it could delay processing because Med-QUEST must contact the applicant for verification. 3. Med-QUEST’s Processing Time * Medical emergencies with form 1149 completed are high priority applications. A designated eligibility worker in each applications unit processes them within a maximum of 2 days. If form 1149 is sent to Med-QUEST separate from the original application, the original date application (when it was faxed, mailed, or dropped off) should be written on the top of the form. It was noted that fax cover sheets should never be used because it wastes paper and ink. * The applications supervisors and O‘ahu Section Administrator closely track processing time for all applications. On the date of the meeting (12/05/05), applications received on 11/07/05 were distributed to eligibility workers for processing. * Currently, four clerks register applications. 4. Application Denial Reasons Barbara distributed data reflecting the reasons applications are denied statewide the past three years. The chart and graph highlighted the percent of cases denied due to not providing information which has declined from an average of 27.9% (November 2002 to June 2004) to an average of 14.9% (July 2004 to October 2005). The ultimate goal is to keep under 10% by working with outstationed eligibility workers and community partners trained to help applicants complete the forms. 5. Common Acronyms Vickie distributed a list of common acronyms, verification codes, and participation codes that Med-QUEST uses. 6. Med-QUEST Eligibility Workers and OEWs Partnering to Help Mutual Customers * We discussed how Med-QUEST eligibility workers should first contact OEWs regarding questions about applications they submit (those with 1100A attached). This will save eligibility workers time and benefit the customer. * If an OEW does not get a timely response from an eligibility worker, the OEW should call the supervisor. If the supervisor does not respond, a last resort is to call Vickie. 7. Other Information * It was requested that OEWs not use fax cover sheets when faxing applications or other information to Med-QUEST because it wastes paper and ink. * If someone changes her/his name, a photocopy of the appropriate certificate (e.g., marriage, birth, or divorce) is required. * OEWs should write legibly on forms. * Vickie will send Barbara additional information on how OEWs can help dual eligible and Medicare-only customers transition to the new Medicare Part D program. Note: Vickie sent the details by email on 12/15/05 and hard copies were mailed to OEWs statewide on 12/16/05.