DHCS issued a letter on November 26, 2014, reminding counties that the appointment of authorized representatives now lasts until a change is made. This change could be the applicant/beneficiary modifying/cancelling the authorization, the appointment of a new representative, the representative withdrawing, or a change in the law. Previously, the appointment period lasted for a year. DHCS MEDIL I 14-57.
Summaries of select CalWORKs, CalFresh, Health and Housing Regulations
Medi-Cal
Initial Guidance on Short-Term Negative Action for MAGI Medi-Cal Cases
DHCS is providing counties initial guidance on dealing with MAGI Medi-Cal cases where all individuals on the case need to be denied or terminated from the program. The letter outlines five steps:
- Counties will identify pending and active cases that should be denied or terminated where all members on the case are MAGI Medi-Cal within three priority areas: duplicate applications, failure to complete redetermination, and failure to complete determination.
- SAWS will receive the county lists and send them to CalHEERS.
- SAWS or MEDS will take negative action through a backend data fix.
- SAWS will generate and send NOAs.
- CalHEERS will take negative action using a backend data fix.
The letter includes a list of negative actions (Attachment A) and an overview of the different systems (Atttachment B). DHCS MEDIL I 14-56
Medi-Cal Efforts to Deal with Individuals Pending in the Application Backlog
This letter notifies counties of the DHCS-required process for reducing the pending backlog of Medi-Cal cases. DHCS will cull through lists for a preliminary determination of eligibility, which counties will then evaluate by December 1. DHCS will then start granting preliminary eligibility coverage included on these lists. DHCS MEDIL I 14-55, 14-55 E
Materials to be Provided with Medi-Cal Application and Renewal Forms
DHCS issued guidelines about which materials must be offered to households at the time of application and at the time of renewal. The set of documents depends on applicant type: New Household, Medicare Savings Program, Non-MAGI, Renewal. The letter provides the lists of documents. DHCS MEDIL I 14-54.
DHCS MEDIL I 14-52: Translation of the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary, Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary, and Qualifying Individuals Application (MC 14A) (10/24/14)
The Department issued this letter informing counties that the updated application for the Medicare Savings Programs has been translated in the 12 threshold languages.
DHCS ACWDL 14-39: Every Woman Counts (EWC) Program Offers Free Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Services to Uninsured Women (10/24/14)
This letter informs counties about the Every Woman Counts program. The letter includes a brochure and flyer about the program, and it encourages counties to provide this information to those ineligible for other programs.