Washtenaw County administered health plan for low-income adults open for enrollment
Uninsured adults in Washtenaw County can now enroll in a state-funded program that's been closed to new members for almost 18 months.
But residents only have until Nov. 30 to apply for coverage.
Uninsured adults in Washtenaw County can again enroll in a state-funded program.
The plan provides health care coverage for very low-income adults who don’t have access to other coverage.
The plan is referred to by two different names. The Washtenaw Health Plan administers the benefits and calls it Plan A. The Michigan Department of Human Services, which controls enrollment, calls it by the name of the statewide program, the Adult Benefit Waiver.
The Plan A/ABW program covers specialty and primary care, prescription drugs, mental health on a limited basis and other services.
It’s intended for low-income adults, such as those with no minor children living at home, no public or private insurance and limited assets.
“It is a program that provides access to health care for people who are not eligible for other programs,” said Ellen Rabinowitz, executive director of the Washtenaw Health Plan.
County health officials urge adults to turn in applications now. Washtenaw Health Plan staff are available to help those interested fill out the paperwork.
Those who may qualify include:
- Adults ages 19-64 with no minor children at home.
- Those with no income or who are very low-income, with a maximum income of $316 to $595 a month for a single person, and $425 to $731 a month for a married couple.
- U.S. citizens or those who have been a non-citizen legal resident of the U.S. for at least five years.
- Those with no private insurance, such as Blue Cross, or public insurance, such as Medicaid and Medicare.
- Those with less than $3,000 in assets and/or savings other than their car and home.
As of Oct. 1, 917 people were enrolled in Plan A, Rabinowitz said. At its peak, the plan enrolled 2,000 adults, and WHP hopes to hit that number. Those who enroll must re-enroll every year.
Washtenaw County residents will find Plan A/ABW applications at the Washtenaw Health Plan, 555 Towner, Ypsilanti, MI 48198, or by calling (734) 544-3030. The Washtenaw Health Plan website is whp.ewashtenaw.org.
Juliana Keeping is a health and environment reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
snapshot
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 11:34 p.m.
Hey Chooch those nerve endings of yours seem a little sensitive for someone yielding the sword of "might makes right" syndrome.
Chooch
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 4:04 p.m.
@snapshot - We live in a stinky world, filled with stinky people like me and stinky people like you. Let's all wake up together, smell the stank and say cheers to the future!
snapshot
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 2:44 p.m.
Chooch, you need to enroll in the low income health plan if you only make 700.00 a month. Have you taken advantage of any Michigan handouts, or should I say tax credits. You never answered my question about the GM and Chrysler handouts....you just keep banging on the poor people and demanding they fend for themselves but you probably wouldn't hire one of them because they aren't qualified because their schools stink, their environment stinks, and the way people like you treat them and want to control them stinks.
Chooch
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 12:27 p.m.
@snapshot - My nerve comes from the fact that I employ two people, provide health insurance to both, then after all my corporate taxes are paid, I have less than $700 a month to pay myself. But I keep my head up high, keep fighting on to survive, and I will never give up and ask for handouts from public funds. Handouts enable behavior to continue.
KathrynHahn
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 12:30 a.m.
@ reprepregadda "Who has determined that the low-income individuals need primary care and speciality care? On what basis this decision is arrived? What if all of them need mental health care? What if they have only problems related to their personal behavior? " "Treating ill health should not be the goal. Keeping people in good health should be the primary objective" I am a current member of the WHP. I am able to see my Dr. if I get sick, when I suffered a serious injury, and to get my flu shot, etc... Why do people assume that people in need are alcoholics, drug users, and so on. This is a wonderful system helping folks like me who lost our jobs, or have employers that don't offer insurance because of it's cost and many other good reasons. Not everyone is out to "use" the system and it's a pity that the few who do ruin it for the rest of us, but I am truly grateful for the WHP!
snapshot
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 11:58 p.m.
reprepregadda, aren't you quite the control freak wanting to set all kinds of restrictions on those who are having difficulty fending for themselves. What kind of health plan do you have? Maybe we should be setting some restrictions on your dietary intake also. How much do you weigh? Do you use alcohol or drugs? Why do you feel justified putting others under scrutiny but omit yourself? Is arrogance treatable?
snapshot
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 11:52 p.m.
Hey Chooch, so you obviously don't care for the public welfare taxpayers are providing for GM and Chrysler. We didn't even require them to fill out a form, or qualify annually, or give up their vehicles, or make them deplete their savings. You got a lot of nerve hammering on folks who make 700.00 a month and aren't allowed to earn more wwithout losing their healthcare. You must be on the "government employee" welfare system.
bugjuice
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 3:51 p.m.
Yeah, it appears that for some folks "one out of many" only applies if the many are like themselves.
tim
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 3:39 p.m.
A Public health care system would provide better care and at the same time save money. Why would we pay more 17% GDP when we could pay 12% GDP for a better system that insures everyone. I guess some people rather pay more for less as long as their taxes are low
Chooch
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 3:17 p.m.
@bugjuice - You are absolutely right. What did happen to "e pluribus unum" and the United States of America? Perhaps the "novus ordo seclorum" can answer that for us. I am happy to be part of a collective, to care for one another and help out the truly unfortunate. But I am not happy to be part of the current collective where social programs continue to drive down the quality of life for those who try. I wonder what the fate of the upper-lower-middle class will be as the bailouts in every sector continue...
bugjuice
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 1:41 p.m.
"... what happened to survival of the fittest?" Politically speaking, this way of thinking has gone under a number of names over the years in this country, although in Europe it's commonly referred to as 'neofascism.' Or social Darwinism. Whatever happened to E pluribus unum and the UNITED states of America where we take care of each other and the government is the agent that helps us do that? If we don't get over the myth of the rugged individualist making their way against all odds and start looking out for each other, this nation is headed for ruin.
tim
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 1:27 p.m.
Sorry I mean that I didn't know that Medicaid was that narrow
tim
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 1:03 p.m.
Ruth thanks for your info. I had no clue that medicare was that narrow. Chooch it is true that people abuse the social safty net but I know people that went to university -- did all the right stuff-- beat the pavement and found work, only to find out that their new employer offers NO HEALTH INSURANCE. Private insurance was out of the question (it's only 250000 a year). I thinks it would be better if we all pitched in and solved the health care problem.
Speechless
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 12:34 p.m.
I wasn't previously aware that Medicare required a second level of qualification beyond being very poor. Hence, the need for Washtenaw Health Plan' program, as it locally administers a bureaucratic 'kludge' that extends Medicaid to cover some of those living in poverty who ought to have been covered all along by this federal program (and will after 2014). The eventual expansion of Medicaid in a few years will certainly help. It will represent one more very modest step in the general direction of Medicare For All, a point where our society will eventually arrive, maybe in spite of itself. As even the conservative statesman Winston Churchill once remarked: "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing... after they have exhausted all other possibilities." ------------ "... what happened to survival of the fittest?" Politically speaking, this way of thinking has gone under a number of names over the years in this country, although in Europe it's commonly referred to as 'neofascism.'
Ignatz
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 11:27 a.m.
There's some really nice survival of the fittest stuff going on in Somalia. Perhaps that's a more appropriate environment for those who like that type of life. For me, I'll try to take care of my fellow American citizens.
Chooch
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 10:56 a.m.
@tim - When you say "their mony", are you sure you don't mean "our money"? I really don't think giving money to people for nothing is solving any problems, it seems like it would simply enable the person to continue their lifestyle and let the problem continue. I have faith in humanity, and I think humans are strong willed and should fend for themselves to bring forth a stronger person.
Ruth Kraut
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 10:52 a.m.
Regarding this question: "Why would a couple earning only 731$ a month with almost no assets not qualify for medicare or medicaid?" Medicare is a Health Insurance Program for: People age 65 or older. People under age 65 with certain disabilities. People of all ages with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant). Most people think of Medicaid as a "poor people's program." In reality, it is currently a "poor-plus" program: you need to be poor plus have something else that qualifies you. For instance, be poor and disabled; be poor and pregnant; be poor and under age 21. (There are other categories for qualification as well.) Many poor adults do not qualify for Medicaid because they don't meet these additional criteria. In 2014, under the Medicaid expansion that is part of the health care reform law, people will qualify for Medicaid if their income is low enough, and not based on additional criteria. Ruth Kraut, WHP Health Analyst
tim
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 10:39 a.m.
The fittest all got together and decided it was cheaper to pool their mony together to solve problems.
Chooch
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 10:18 a.m.
And by "state funded" I'm sure "tax payer funded" could've been used instead... what happened to survival of the fittest?
tim
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 10:17 a.m.
Why would a couple earning only 731$ a month with almost no assets not qualify for medicare or medicaid?
Juliana Keeping
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 9:43 a.m.
No problem. And here are a few more details...just because: The program is funded with a mix of 65 percent federal and 35 percent state funds. Then the state divvies up the money among participating counties. In Washtenaw County, each enrolled person gets $121.57 Medicaid cash that flows to the states and health care reform have had a direct impact on this program. From healthcare.gov: For the first time, Michigan has the option of Federal Medicaid funding for coverage for all low-income populations, irrespective of age, disability, or family status. For more: http://tinyurl.com/36hzhdr In 2014, those who qualify for the Adult Benefit Waiver will qualify for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (the Affordable Care Act is what health care reform signed into law in March 2010 is now called)
Vivienne Armentrout
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 9:14 a.m.
Thanks for the clarification. It's good to know that more very low income people will be able to receive coverage, as limited as the opportunity is.
Juliana Keeping
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 9:12 a.m.
Here is are more details as to how the program is funded, from Ellen Rabinowitz: It's funded under Medicaid 65 percent of the funding is from the federal government, 35 percent from the state. In Washtenaw County, the plan receives $127.57 per member per month from the state pot (which includes the federal dollars). The program opening up has much to do with healthcare reform: And from healthreform.gov: "For the first time, Michigan has the option of Federal Medicaid funding for coverage for all low-income populations, irrespective of age, disability, or family status." http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:u0j1JlqTvKEJ:www.healthreform.gov/reports/statehealthreform/michigan.html+medicaid+reimbursement+health+care+reform+Michigan+site:+.gov&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Juliana Keeping
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 8:26 a.m.
Thanks, Ruth. Ruth Kraut is a health analyst for the plan.
Ruth Kraut
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 8:20 a.m.
The state of Michigan controls the opening and closing of enrollment. Funding for the program allows for an enrollment average of 65,000 members statewide. The program had been closed for nearly 18 months because it had exceeded that statewide average. It is only open until the end of November because the state expects that at the end of that period enrollment will be substantially above 65,000.
Juliana Keeping
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 8:19 a.m.
From the Michigan Department of Community Health website: The coverage is funded by state general and federal title XIX funds to cover uninsured, childless adults. http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-2943-66333--,00.html
Juliana Keeping
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 8:06 a.m.
Hi Vivienne. According to Rabinowitz, the open spots are mostly due to people not re-enrolling. Statewide, the program can fund healthcare for about 65,000 individuals. But in September, enrollment was around 41,000. Not sure about where the state gets the cash. I'd have to look into that.
Vivienne Armentrout
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 7:55 a.m.
It would be interesting to know why the plan opened up. Did some of the previous enrollees drop out? Was funding provided from the national health bill via the state?
tim
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 6:47 a.m.
The whole system cost too much. The republicans and the conservitive democrats killed any chance of lowering the cost by voting against the public option part of the Obama plan. Seems that republicans are ok with high costs but I' rather pay higher taxes if it means that I lower my costs overall.