The State of Ohio has agreed to give free health coverage to 160,000 Ohioans who lost Medicaid since welfare reform began. This move is an important opportunity for many low-income working people to receive needed health care. The reinstatement will provide Medicaid cards that are good from January 1, 2001 to March 31, 2001. These cards have no strings attached – in other words, recipients will not have to pay for services, even if they are found ineligible for continuing benefits. The cards are good for all services covered by Medicaid. That includes doctors’ visits, hospital care, dental, vision, and most health care needs.

People will also receive a simple, mail-in application to apply for continuing coverage. This is important because eligibility limits for both parents and kids went up on July 1, 2000. Many working parents and their children may be eligible. Also, you can apply by mail, with no office visits, and the paperwork is much simpler.

Ohio’s welfare reform officially began on November 1, 1997. Like other states, Ohio worked hard to move people off welfare and into work – but failed to make sure that people moving from welfare to work kept their health coverage, food stamps, and child care benefits. In Ohio, over 392,000 people lost welfare-related or low-income families Medicaid. Several states that were sued or threatened with suit reinstated some people to Medicaid.

Ohio’s reinstatement – the largest by far – came after advocates from legal services and the Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN) Ohio pressed the state to address the tremendous decline in Medicaid (health coverage) enrollment since welfare reform began. In April 2000, the federal Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA) sent a letter to every state ordering them to find and reinstate people who were improperly terminated. Rather than look through each file, Ohio agreed to put everyone who lost it back on for 3 months.

The 160,000 people who will be reinstated (including over 17,000 in Franklin County) include most people who were terminated from Medicaid for families between November 1997 and April 2000 (minus people who are currently on, or who left the state or died). This includes people who were on welfare, TANF, OWF, or low-income families Medicaid, but would not include people who received Medicaid due to disability.

Spread the word

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which runs Medicaid, sent notices about the reinstatement to people in November. But over 45,000 notices have come back, most because the state doesn’t have the person’s correct address. Anyone who thinks they might be eligible for Medicaid reinstatement should call the state’s toll-free hotline – 1-800- 324-8680 - and ask if they are on the list. People who work with low-income families should also let them know about the Medicaid reinstatement and encourage them to use it.

Anyone who is on the list and notifies the state during the year 2001 will receive 3 months of free Medicaid.

Back medical bills may be covered

Under certain conditions, the state will pay medical bills for people who lost Medicaid starting in November 1997. You need to be in the list of people who lost Medicaid and document the bills. Applications for payment of back bills will be sent out in January.

This reinstatement is the result of a year’s work by advocates from legal services, UHCAN Ohio, and other groups who pressed the state to address the tremendous decline in Medicaid (health coverage) enrollment since welfare reform began. Many people who left welfare lost their Medicaid when they were still eligible. Rather than look through each file, the state agreed to put everyone back on for 3 months, pay back bills, and send people simple mail-in applications for continuing benefits.

This Medicaid reinstatement is a great opportunity for working families to receive needed health coverage. Spread the word!

For more information on reinstatement or to schedule a presentation for your community organization or agency, contact The Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN) Ohio, 614-253-4340.