As of July 1, 2012, the Washington State Health Care Authority, the agency that oversees the state’s Medicaid program providing health care coverage to low-income residents, expanded the number of contractors who provide health care services under the program. This expansion of these so-called Medicaid-managed care contractors has the potential to cause confusion amongst Neighborcare’s Medicaid patients.
 

The three new plans that will be offered to Medicaid clients beginning in July are United Health, Amerigroup and Coordinated Care. In September, Medicaid patients who are in the blind and disabled category will be rolled into managed care and assigned a health plan.
 

Some of the companies have already begun advertising heavily. Patients who might be confused about the upcoming changes in Medicaid and want to make certain they can continue to be seen at their Neighborcare clinic, are being urged to make an appointment with the eligibility staff member at their site. Click here to access information about Neighborcare’s eligibility staff.
 

Community Health Plan (now the only non-profit health plan in business in Washington State) remains Neighborcare’s plan of choice. However, we have also contracted with another managed care provider, Molina Health Plan, at all of our clinic sites.
 

In addition to helping out patients in clinic, our eligibility staff is calling patients at each site. Community Health Plan of Washington has distributed posters for each site and is also making calls. It’s an all-out effort to help our patients weave through this next round of changes in Medicaid.
 

More information about the Medicaid expansion is available from the Health Care Authority website.