Phoebe Offers Assistance to Help Patients Apply for Medicaid

Albany, GA | April 19, 2024 – Phoebe is urging all area Medicaid recipients to ensure they don’t lose their insurance coverage as the state wraps up a federally-mandated redetermination process, and the health system will help those who may need assistance with the redetermination or application process.

"People with insurance often experience better health outcomes due to increased access to preventive care, medications and timely medical interventions. Completing Medicaid redetermination is essential for maintaining coverage and accessing medical services," said Dianna Grant, MD, Phoebe Putney Health System Chief Medical Officer.

Each year, Medicaid recipients are required to update paperwork to ensure they still qualify for the government insurance program. That regulation was waived during COVID but has been reinstated.  Georgia must complete its Medicaid redetermination process by the end of May. Already, 600,000 Georgians have lost Medicaid during that process. The vast majority of them were dropped because of missing paperwork.

“We know many people got out of the habit of submitting their annual information over the last few years, and if they moved without notifying Medicaid of their new address, they may not have received letters from the state advising them to reapply. We don’t want any eligible person to miss out on this vital coverage, and that’s why we are urging all Medicaid recipients to ensure they have completed this process,” Dr. Grant said.

Phoebe has partnered with Resource Corporation of America (RCA) to help patients needing assistance with their applications. You can request that assistance by calling RCA at 229-381-8899. You may complete redetermination on your own by visiting Georgia Gateway at https://gateway.ga.gov/access/.

Medicaid recipients who did not receive a letter with information on how to redetermine their or their child’s eligibility should go to Georgia Gateway or call RCA immediately to submit information.  If you did receive a letter, be sure to provide the required information by the deadline mentioned in the letter.  If you missed the deadline, there is a 90-day grace period to complete the process.  If you lose coverage because you do not complete the process, you can reapply at a later date, but you will experience a gap in coverage.

The number of Georgians covered by Medicaid peaked at about 2.8 million during the pandemic.  Most of those on Medicaid are children who covered through PeachCare for Kids.