Medicaid Council meeting

This month’s MAPOC meeting was loaded with updates on the program. The highlight was results from the newest mystery shopper survey. Callers were able to get appointments within appropriate timeframes with 63.8% of participating providers this year, compared to 33.6% last year. Even that is better than the only survey conducted while HUSKY was run by managed care companies; mystery shoppers were only able to get appointments with 20 to 25% of providers listed on those HMO panels. This reflects the state’s progress in recruiting new providers -- for example the number of participating PCPs is up 21% over 2012 levels. In more good news, only 14.6% of mystery shoppers were told that their insurance status (Medicaid coverage) affected the availability of appointments and only 7% felt unwelcome or discouraged from making an appointment. Unfortunately much work remains in enrollment, especially reducing the 78-minute average wait time for the call center. There was also discussion of implementation of new MAGI eligibility standards, total eligibility growth, network adequacy, and access to dental care.