Youth who were in foster care under the responsibility of the state of Missouri on the date they attained the age of eighteen years, or at any time during the thirty-day period preceding their eighteenth birthday are eligible for coverage without regard to their income or assets, if such persons:
- Are under twenty-six years of age,
- Are not eligible for coverage under another mandatory coverage group; (This group includes those youth who are disabled, receive Supplemental Security Income [SSI], or are receiving Medicare.) and
- Were covered by Medicaid while they were in foster care,
per RSMo 208.151.1 (SB 577, 2007, and SB 127, 2013)
The youth’s most current address must be updated in FACES on the Health Care for Former Foster Care Youth (formerly SB577) screen in order for the youth’s address to cross over to MO HealthNet Division’s (MHD) system where eligibility will show. If the youth resides in a Managed Care county, the youth will need to enroll into a Managed Care (MC) plan for their physical, vision and dental health care needs. Their behavioral health care and pharmacy needs will be provided on a fee-for-service/straight Medicaid basis under MHD. Youth who reside in non-managed care counties will have all their health care needs covered by MHD. The number to call to enroll into a MC plan, or to order a MHD card is 800-348-6627.
For those youth who are Missouri residents but are attending an out-of-state school or on a visit outside of Missouri, the out-of-state provider must be willing to enroll in the MO HealthNet program. Per federal requirements, Medicaid cannot be opened in two states at the same time.
When a youth exits CD custody, the Children’s Service Worker will close the Alternative Care Client case in FACES, in order to capture the exit data in our information system. Upon closing, the system will automatically populate the youth as LSM, which denotes the youth is eligible for MO HealthNet coverage only.
Each county has designated liaison/contact person(s) for those LSM youth to contact and to ensure address changes are made in the FACES system. The contact/liaison is responsible for referring the youth to an Older Youth Transition Specialist, if necessary.
Eligible youth receiving MO HealthNet services through Family Support Division (FSD) will continue with their current healthcare coverage. If the eligible youth currently receiving FSD services becomes ineligible for healthcare through FSD, FSD will refer the youth to the CD.
If the former foster care youth already has health insurance or obtains health insurance from another source such as employment, they must use their third party insurance before using MO HealthNet. The youth will need to inform their medical/behavioral services provider that they are eligible for MO HealthNet.
Chapter Memoranda History: (prior to 1/31/07)
Memoranda History:
- CD07-35, CD07-38, CD09-05, CD09-109, CD10-18, CD10-108, CD10-109, CD13-56, CD13-74, CD15-28, CD15-70, CD16-60