Estimated impact on Philadelphia residents and health providers<\/p>\n
City health leaders estimate that on the lower end, about 73,000 people are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage. That will include people who are already working or volunteering 80 hours a month due to missing eligibility paperwork and documentation issues, experts say.\n<\/p>\n
However, the actual number could be as high as 90,000 people, according to Donna Bailey, chief executive officer of Community Behavioral Health. CBH is a not-for-profit organization that manages the city\u2019s behavioral health services network for the Medicaid population.\n<\/p>\n
The organization is using existing client data to identify people who are most at risk of losing Medicaid next year and working with mental health providers in the city who can proactively reach out to these people, Bailey said.\n<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also a lot of work to do in helping people understand how Medicaid changes apply to them. That starts with educating people about what kind of health insurance they have, she said.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t even know they have Medicaid,\u201d Bailey told City Council members Monday. \u201cThey think they have Health Partners or Keystone or Geisinger or UPMC for You or United \u2014 that\u2019s Medicaid.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Public service announcements and awareness campaigns will target people with these plans, Bailey said. CBH also plans to hold in-person outreach events across the city beginning June 13 in partnership with local community service providers like Concilio Philadelphia<\/a>, based in North Philadelphia.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe really want to go to those neighborhoods where we know we have a high percentage of both eligible and utilizing members, prioritizing those first,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n Fallout will affect provider organizations<\/p>\n City organizations and agencies say they\u2019re also worried about how the Medicaid changes and anticipated enrollment losses will affect community health and mental health providers, whose revenue directly depends on the number of people they serve.\n<\/p>\n