Nearly 90 percent who sought disability through healthcare.gov fail to respond to state letters

The state agency that administers Medicaid sent approximately 10,000 letters seeking more information from South Carolinians who suggested on the new federal insurance marketplace that they were disabled or seeking long-term care.

Only about 10 percent of the letters were returned by the initial deadline of Aug. 21, said Beth Hutto, deputy director for eligibility, enrollment and member service at the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

The reason 90 percent who claimed disability didn’t return the eligibility letter is unclear. Hutto suspects some people filling out the forms on healthcare.gov didn’t realize their answers to certain questions flagged them as possibly disabled. Others might have been granted disability status since applying on healthcare.gov, and they ignored the letters. Still more might be transient and not receiving the letters.

The state agency expected as many as 50 percent of the letters wouldn’t be returned. The number returning the letters could rise slightly because recipients were granted a 30-day grace period.

It’ll be months before the agency will know how many of the people who returned the letters qualify for disability Medicaid coverage.

Those who don’t qualify as disabled will get denial letters. Hutto said some people might already have received denial letters, but they shouldn’t give up on the process. They still might be approved for some Medicaid coverage.

The agency is required to send separate denial or approval letters for each different facet of Medicaid coverage. For instance, someone might be denied for disability coverage, but approved for coverage for low-income residents. It can be confusing when the denial letter for one level arrives before the approval and Medicaid card for another level, Hutto said.

About 38,000 applications for health insurance coverage through the federal marketplace were transferred to the state agency because they might be eligible for Medicaid. About 60 percent of those have been approved for Medicaid, mostly for programs covering those with low income or pregnant mothers.

This story was originally published September 12, 2014 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Nearly 90 percent who sought disability through healthcare.gov fail to respond to state letters."