As you may have heard, Medicaid is changing. Starting July 2018 Medicaid (Passport Health Plan, Anthem, Humana CareSource, WellCare, & Aetna Better Health) will work differently from it has in the past, there will be deductible accounts, monthly premiums, community engagement requirements, and more. While it could all be quite confusing, we’re going to break it down into 3 parts and explain what’s changing and what it means for you.

In the first part of this series, we’re taking a look at monthly premiums, and the changes coming to vision/dental coverage.

Medicaid will no longer traditionally cover Dental and Vision services. This means, that if you have not seen the dentist in 2018, and have medicaid coverage, you need to set an appointment as soon as possible. (Same goes for your eye doc). After July 1, Medicaid recipients will have to earn money in their “My Rewards Account” to pay for dental and vision services. We will discuss My Rewards in the second part of our series.

Vision and Dental health are extremely important. With coverage changing, it is important you see your doc before July 1 in order to be covered under the old plan. Even if your last appointment was in late 2017, it is worth calling to see if you can make another appointment before your coverage changes.

The other big change coming to Medicaid is the monthly premium payments. These will be between $1-15 and are income based (Federal Poverty Level). Those who are above 100% Federal Poverty Level, and do not make their monthly premium payments for 2 months (60 days) will have their benefits suspended. It is extremely important to make these payments in order to keep coverage. Those below 100% Federal Poverty Level will be placed on a co-payment program instead.

For more information about all the changes to the Kentucky Medicaid program you can visit kentuckyhealth.ky.gov or call PDCHC’s Outreach and Enrollment Department at 502-772-5038