Medicaid recipients who aren’t happy with their managed care plan have until the end of the month to switch. After that, they’ll be locked into their current health plan for the remainder of the year.
Claudia Lennhoff leads Champaign County Health Care Consumers. She says many patients have been auto-enrolled into plans that may not include their primary care physician. And if they don’t act before the June 30th deadline, they’ll have to find a new doctor.
“We really want to preserve continuity of care. That's really important, especially for people who have complicated or chronic health conditions, it's really important for them to stay with a provider who knows them, who's worked with them.”
Lennhoff urges Medicaid managed care recipients to act now - to learn whether their doctor is in their network, and their prescriptions are covered.
The Champaign County Health Care Consumers can help. Patients can also visit the Health Choice Illinois website or call 877-912-8880.
Lawmakers passed a bill last month that would allow Medicaid recipients to change plans if the contract between their provider and health plan is terminated. That bill awaits action from Governor Rauner.