| TO: | ALL COUNTY OFFICES |
| FROM: | JANEL R. LUCK, DIRECTOR |
| SUBJECT: | OUTREACH TO PROMOTE MO HEALTHNET COVERAGE FOR CHILDREN |
DISCUSSION:
The Department of Social Services (DSS) is engaging in outreach activities to promote MO HealthNet coverage for children. The outreach is being coordinated with several agencies across the state to assist in reaching families that may not be aware of healthcare coverage opportunities available through MO HealthNet programs.
Some of the activities that the Family Support Division (FSD) is currently involved in are noted below.
MO HealthNet for Kids Awareness Outreach:
Between November 30 and December 10, 2007, a letter 
and a MO HealthNet for Kids application are being sent to families that may be eligible for coverage. The letter encourages parents to seek healthcare coverage for their uninsured children. The Governor and the First Lady are supporting this outreach effort because it emphasizes the importance of healthcare for children.
FSD is anticipating a large response to the letter and the activities that are part of this outreach. The MO HealthNet Service Center will assist with the expected response. Families are instructed to send applications from this outreach to the MO HealthNet Service Center. Applications sent to the MO HealthNet Service Center will be registered on site, and then transferred to the home county for processing.
If an application is received at a local FSD county office, the local office needs to accept the application and process it.
FQHC/RHC Application Assistance:
FSD is also partnering with Missouri FQHCs across the state, entering into agreements that allow FQHCs to help individuals complete MO HealthNet for Kids, Pregnant Women, and Parents applications. FSD is reaching out to include RHCs in these application agreements. The FQHC/RHC-assisted applications are sent to the local FSD office for completion of the eligibility determination, with the application date considered to be the date it is completed at the FQHC/RHC.
Any applications taken by these facilities and entered into FAMIS must show the application as received by the contracting agency on the Application Request (REQUEST or FM0G) screen by entering “CA” in the “How Recd” field and the contracted agency code on the Application Detail (FM17) screen.
NOTE: The Contracted Agency Code table (code table 0567) displays the corporate name or business name that many of the FQHCs and other medical facilities operate under, while some codes also note both the corporate name and the d.b.a. (doing business as) name of the actual physical facility. (Examples: Family Medicine Associates and its health centers in Buchanan County operate under the corporate name of Northwest Health Services listed on the code table, while Herman Area District Hospital is listed under its d.b.a. name of Associated Medical Arts.) Eligibility specialists will need to know the corporate name as well as the business name of the medical facility in order to process FAMIS applications correctly.
Local FSD staff is working with FQHC and RHC staff to develop procedures for implementing the details of the agreement. Regional training will be provided for FSD, FQHC and RHC staff to explain the eligibility requirements for the MO HealthNet programs and the application procedures. County managers may contact Julie Philbert at Julie.K.Philbert@dss.mo.gov or (573) 522-2314 for more information regarding upcoming trainings or agreement details.
Expansion of the Presumptive Eligibility (PE) for Children Program:
Prior to Senate Bill 577 (2007), the only Qualified Entities allowed to make PE eligibility determinations were five hospitals that were designated as children's hospitals. Senate Bill 577 requires that the Department of Social Services (DSS) study expansion of this program. FSD has since implemented two pilot projects to study the expansion of the PE for Children process to include medical facilities designated as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinic (RHCs) as Qualified Entities.
Family Medicine Associates and its associated health centers, all FQHCs in Buchanan County, and Hermann Area District Hospital, an RHC in Montgomery County, are the sites of the PE for Children expansion pilot projects. The staff at these facilities has received training and is currently making PE for Children eligibility determinations. These new sites have been added to the Presumptive Eligibility Qualified Entity list available under the Resource Link on FSD's MO HealthNet Intranet site, as well as the Contracted Agency Table in FAMIS.
NECESSARY ACTION:
- Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.
ATTACHMENT:
- Letter from Governor Matt Blunt and First Lady Melanie Blunt