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The launch of the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange and the state’s new Medicaid program, Centennial Care, on Tuesday (Oct. 1) marked what El Centro Family Health’s executive director described as a big opportunity.
“We have talked and talked and talked about health reform and now people will have a choice,” Lore Pease told The Taos News.
Due to the initiatives ushered in as part of the state’s efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act of 2010, Pease said many of the uninsured clients served at the 16 nonprofit clinics operated by El Centro across Northern New Mexico would be able to attain health coverage.
Centennial Care, which will combine the state’s Medicaid programs such as Salud! and Optum, will also include an expansion of Medicaid. Adults earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level will now be eligible to enroll in health insurance through one of four companies contracted by the state.
Two out of five El Centro clients could benefit, Pease said, and enjoy broader choices in selecting doctors and services rather than simply turning to the nonprofit clinic due to economic circumstances.
“We could potentially lose 40 percent of our population,” Pease told The Taos News, referring to the rough proportion of El Centro clients who could be eligible for Centennial Care and seek services from other providers. “But people who have that choice could also come to us.”
Pease said more insured clients would mean more revenue for El Centro and one more reason to enroll clients in Medicaid or a plan offered on the state’s health insurance exchange.
As more than a quarter of Taos County residents do not have health insurance, Pease concedes El Centro’s staff have their work cut out for them.
Starting Oct. 7, employees at El Centro’s Taos clinics will be available to assist clients and other local residents with enrolling in health insurance. Throughout Northern New Mexico, the organization will have 23 staff working as Medicaid determiners who can assist clients registering for Centennial Care. Nine more will be health exchange guides that will aid clients enrolling in plans through the state’s marketplace. Other staff will work to enroll homeless residents.
Underwritten by a $123,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, El Centro’s efforts are just one part of a push across Taos County to expand access to health coverage.
Holy Cross Hospital has trained some staff to assist patients and community members with health insurance enrollment. When Oct. 1 arrived and registration began, however, employees were waiting for certificates from the state’s superintendent of insurance. Holy Cross officials said local residents interested in enrolling in either Centennial Care or one of the plans offered on the state exchange could begin making appointments with a guide for mid-October. The hospital will also offer walk-in hours.
Though Native Americans are exempt from a federal law due to take effect in 2014 that requires Americans to enroll in health insurance, the CEO of Taos-Picuris Indian Health Clinic was hopeful clients would embrace Centennial Care.
“Ultimately, it will be the tribal member’s decision but we are ready to educate them and we would like to be their provider of choice,” Melody Price-Yonts told The Taos News.
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