In the Governor’s FY 2019-20 budget, the budget mentions that the Department of Health will begin identifying Medicaid-enrolled persons with comprehensive third-party health insurance and disenroll those individuals from Medicaid. Individuals identified by the Department will receive a notification of terminated benefits, and disenrollment will be effective 2 months after their receipt of that notification. In the instances where individuals receive a notice of disenrollment but are not covered by comprehensive third-party insurance, they will have the opportunity to appeal the disenrollment to the Department of Health.
The Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, the Office of Mental Health, and the Department of Financial Services have created a new program to ensure all New Yorkers are able to access insurance coverage for substance use disorder and mental health services. The new program, called Community Health Access to Addiction and Mental Healthcare Project (CHAMP) works to educate individuals, families, and health care providers on their legal rights to coverage, helps people access treatment and services, and will investigate and resolve complaints regarding denial of health insurance coverage. To learn more about CHAMP, click to view the brochure or flyer.
Dedicated E-mail Address CHCANYS has also created a dedicated e-mail address, oehelp@chcanys.org, via which to address O&E-related issues and questions. Please begin using this new address effective immediately to contact us!
Certified Application Counselor trainings are open to individuals who are already employed by established NY State of Health assistor agencies or agencies that are looking to become established assistor agencies. The training is not open to brokers or individuals seeking credentials or skills to help them find employment. For online registration instructions and a step-by-step user guide, click here.
There are two NY State of Health Assistor Certification training options available through Cicatelli Associates:
Complete the training online. For instructions on how to register for and access the online training, click here.
2. Attend a three (3) day in-person session. Registration and dates available can be found by clicking here.
Assistance with Administrative Issues In an effort to consolidate where NY State of Health Assistors report administrative issues associated with their accounts, the Department of Health has created a dedicated mailbox at Assistor.Admin@health.ny.gov.
Effective immediately, this mailbox should be used for the following issues:
To report staff changes, either permanently or temporarily for a leave of absence. This information must be reported within 48 hours of the person’s change in employment status and should include the name and certification number of the person that is leaving along with the name and certification number of the employee that will be assuming his/her caseload. For example: John Smith, certification number 123-456789, is no longer employed with ABC Agency. Please transfer his applications to Sally Jones, assistor number 123-012345.
To ask questions / raise issues regarding an assistor account such as:
not receiving your invitation code;
not being able to log in (Password/Username);
not receiving soft tokens; or
needing assistance changing information in the assistor’s profile
To obtain information regarding NYSOH Assistor Training Programs including:
submission of Assistor Trainings lists;
submission of Assistor Recertification Reports;
requests for the schedule and registration instructions for the three-day in-person NYSOH Assistor Training;
registration instructions for the Small Business Marketplace (SBM) online Navigator training; and
questions related to all NYSOH Assistor Training programs
Please note, this mailbox should not be used to submit questions regarding applications or eligibility issues. Please continue to submit these concerns to cacmail@health.ny.gov.
Forms
LDSS-4279 Notice of Responsibilities and Rights for Support (LDSS-4279)
LDSS-4882 Information about Child Support Services and Application/Referral for Child Support Services (LDSS-4882)
DOH-5106 Employer Sponsored Health Insurance Request for Information
DOH-5085 Authorized Representative Designation Form
DOH-5087 Authorized Representative Identity Verification Form
New York State of Health Medicaid and Public Charge QAs These Questions and Answers (QAs) are meant to serve as a tool for questions about public charge and how receiving health benefits could affect immigration options.
Community Health Access to Addiction and Mental Healthcare Project (CHAMP) Works to educate individuals, families, and health care providers on their legal rights to coverage, helps people access treatment and services, and will investigate and resolve complaints regarding denial of health insurance coverage. Click here to view the CHAMP brochure. Anyone with questions about CHAMP should reach out to Lynn Goldman, Project Specialist, CHAMP: lynn@nyscouncil.org.
Outreach & Enrollment Health Insurance Resource Index for Certified Application Counselors With support from the Altman Foundation, CHCANYS has developed an O&E Resource Index to help certified application counselors (CAC) at New York FQHCs assist clients at their respective sites. Created in follow-up to “I Finally Have Health Insurance, Now What?” Teaching Consumers How to Use Their Health Insurance, the two-day health insurance literacy training session hosted by CHCANYS in Fall 2015, the index is a compilation of helpful tools and resources located online. It is not an exhaustive list, but rather a hand-picked variety of resources that CHCANYS hopes that CACs will find useful when helping clients navigate their health insurance options. The index features a health literacy tool with icons to help CACs easily locate and select the information most useful to them.
Community Service Society Proposes Solutions for Uninsured Immigrants in New Report In a new report entitled, “How Can New York Provide Health Insurance Coverage to its Uninsured Immigrant Residents? An Analysis of Three Coverage Options,”the Community Service Society presents three different proposals for extending coverage to New York’s uninsured and unauthorized immigrants, along with a policy and financial analysis for each. Supported with co-funding from NYSHealth, The New York Community Trust, the Altman Foundation, and the United Hospital Fund, this report offers policymakers a practical, actionable path to close the coverage gap and continue New York's leadership in providing a welcome home for new Americans.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped millions of New Yorkers secure affordable, quality health care, many for the first time. However, as many as 457,000 unauthorized, uninsured immigrant New Yorkers remain ineligible for coverage. Without coverage, many will continue to turn to emergency rooms and public hospitals. Unfortunately, the ACA imposes significant cutbacks in compensating charity care, leaving a greater burden on providers. It is important, both for the uninsured and for a well-functioning health care system, to address the insurance needs of the immigrants left behind.
Interactive Event Calendar This interactive map designed by NYSOH allows consumers to learn where and when certified NYSOH assistors will be at large-scale public events like health fairs, festivals, community forums, etc. These events, separate from your regular site schedule, are opportunities for members of the public to ask questions and/or set up enrollment appointments.
Community Health Advocates (CHA) Read an overview of the Community Health Advocates program and the services it offers to consumers and small employers.
Zip Code Look-Up Tool Use this online tool to access zip code level enrollment data - up to 10 zip codes at a time.
The Nuts and Bolts of New York’s Healthcare Marketplace: A Tool Kit for Caregivers and Advocates Developed by Empire Justice Center in collaboration with CHCANYS and support from the Altman Foundation, this document is an invaluable resource for FQHC staff working to educate patients about the insurance options available to them via the Marketplace. Topics covered include: the online application process; Medicaid and Emergency Medicaid eligibility; Child Health Plus; federal subsidies and related eligibility requirements; hospital charity care; verification of immigrant and nonimmigrant status; and considerations for assisting elderly and disabled applicants.
