Stephanie Ledesma is the vice president for Community Health at Kaiser Permanente, an integrated managed care consortium serving Maryland Medicaid beneficiaries.
Ledesma recently responded to State of Reform’s questions about how the organization is preparing for the Medicaid redetermination process, their goals and timelines during redeterminations, and the challenges they are facing.
State of Reform: How has your organization been preparing for the unwinding period?
Stephanie Ledesma: “Kaiser Permanente is committed to doing all we can to ensure no one gets left without healthcare coverage in Maryland and across our footprint, which includes seven other states and the District of Columbia.
Kaiser Permanente has launched an outreach campaign about Medicaid—how to renew, how to stay covered, and what options are available if people no longer qualify for Medicaid (also known as Medi-Cal in California or QUEST in Hawaii). Kaiser Permanente is contacting our Medicaid members using mailings, emails, calls, texts, and more. We’re reminding them that if they want to keep their Medicaid coverage, they need to reapply to renew their eligibility and to visit kp.org/staycovered for information and resources. This outreach campaign will begin on April 1st, and runs through March 2024.
Our outreach provides our Medicaid members information on what to do during their renewal process and, for those no longer eligible, information on how to stay covered — including transitioning to other Kaiser Permanente coverage options.
Kaiser Permanente is collaborating with all nine of Maryland’s MCOs, the Maryland Department of Health, the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, healthcare providers, community organizations, and other public health stakeholders to ensure that members maintain their health insurance coverage. The year-long Medicaid Check In campaign is aligned with Kaiser Permanente’s universal coverage goals to assure that everyone has access to good quality health services without suffering financial hardship.”
SOR: Can you give an overview of Kaiser’s approach to the process and your general timeline for redeterminations?
SL: “Our goal during the redetermination period is to ensure continued coverage for Medicaid members in the communities that we serve by providing awareness and education about the process, as well as support as they go through the process.
As described above, we will begin targeted outreach to Kaiser Permanente’s Medicaid members in April, and will continue providing information and resources through multiple channels over the following 12-14 months.”
SOR: What are the biggest challenges when it comes to redetermination?
SL: “One of the challenges of our efforts to guide our members through the redetermination process is ensuring we are reaching this population, which can be difficult to reach depending on individuals’ personal circumstances. For example, some Medicaid members are elderly and lack access to email or other types of communication channels; others may not have stable housing situations.
We also must ensure we are conducting all of our outreach in compliance with each state’s requirements, timelines, and guidelines for this process.”
This Q&A was edited for clarity and length.