Intervention(s)
This study will test new outreach methods to improve access to health insurance coverage among people who lost Medicaid for procedural reasons. Specifically, we propose to evaluate the impacts of outreach from Navigators on gaps in Medicaid coverage among people disenrolled from Medicaid for procedural reasons. The implementation partner is Covering Wisconsin, Wisconsin’s Navigator program, which has a staff of professional enrollment assisters who inform and advise consumers on their Medicaid eligibility as well as enrollment and renewal processes on a one-on-one basis. The experimental arms will provide two forms of outreach (a pre-recorded outbound call providing a hotline number vs. a live outbound call from a Navigator). The control arm includes those not exposed to outreach—an available group given the capacity limits of Navigators.
The interventions address potential barriers to successful renewal, including lack of awareness of eligibility for Medicaid or the need for renewal or enrollment paperwork, and uncertainty about how to respond to information requests related to income or asset verification. Navigators will conduct initial outreach in English, Spanish, or Hmong according to the preference indicated in the DHS data. Details are as follows:
Live outbound call arm: Households in this arm will receive a call from a Navigator who can provide personalized assistance with health insurance enrollment. If this call results in a phone conversation, the Navigator will explain the status of the consumer’s renewal application and answer questions about eligibility and the paperwork required to renew or re-enroll in Medicaid coverage or other available coverage. If the consumer does not answer, the Navigator will leave a message with a hotline number.
Pre-recorded call arm: Households in this arm will receive an outbound call message with information about the availability of Navigators to help with the Medicaid enrollment process and answer related questions. Message wording will be informed by the research team’s understanding of the most common administrative barriers and the reasons these barriers are especially challenging.
Both types of calls will be conducted in the 90 days following the member’s renewal deadline. Within this period members can attempt renewal and, if successful, Medicaid will provide up to 3 months’ retroactive payment for any covered services provided during the gap in coverage.