Committee told Wyoming's Medicaid relies on tight categorical rules and a $2,000 resource test for long-term care

Summary

Department of Health officials told the appropriations subcommittee how they screen Medicaid applications, verify income and assets, and why a long-standing $2,000 cash/resource limit affects eligibility for long-term care. Officials also reviewed Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) results and ongoing efforts to reduce eligibility errors.

Director Stefan Johansen and eligibility staff outlined the checks Wyoming uses to determine Medicaid eligibility and described how asset rules can delay access to long-term care.

"Having low income does not qualify you for Medicaid in Wyoming," Director Stefan Johansen told the Appropriations Subcommittee, noting Wyoming is a nonexpansion state and requires both financial and categorical eligibility. Johansen said children, very low-income seniors, family caretakers, SSI recipients, waiver populations and pregnant women are the primary enrollment groups.

Jesse Springer, the department's interim state Medicaid agent, described the application process and the data matches used to verify applicants. "We have a trusted interface that tells us exactly who is on SSI in Wyoming," Springer said, and the department also matches with the Department of Labor, Homeland Security, the Social Security…

Committee told Wyoming's Medicaid relies on tight categorical rules and a $2,000 resource test for long-term care

Summary

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