Latest news with #AJMcWhorter
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Are you dually enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare? Here's what to know on Idaho switching contractors
Only 2,000 Idahoans dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid chose a specific insurance plan so far. But there's 90 days to decide. (Getty Images) Idaho is switching contractors that run health insurance plans for vulnerable patients. Starting June 1, the private health insurance companies running Idaho Medicaid and Medicare's plans will change to Molina Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare. That will only apply to the about 27,000 Idahoans who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, said Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesperson AJ McWhorter. Over half of them were already enrolled in an insurance plan run by a private company, called managed care. People dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid qualify for disabilities, low income and age. Many patients have already been automatically enrolled in one of the new duals insurance plans. But patients will have 90 days, or until Aug. 30, to pick, McWhorter told the Sun in an email. Only 2,000 people chose a specific insurance plan so far, after Health and Welfare sent out letters in March, he said on May 22. 'Many people haven't chosen a new plan because they like the plan they will be enrolled in if they do not make a selection. But we want to be sure that everyone who wants to make an active choice does so,' he said. Idaho's dual Medicaid and Medicare offers two types of plans. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX For people dually eligible, Medicaid generally covers costs not fully covered by Medicare, such as for nursing homes and home and community-based services, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Both of the new Idaho companies, Molina and United, will be required to honor existing patient authorizations for the first 90 days of the contract, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare says. Health and Welfare is winding down readiness reviews of the new companies and hasn't spotted any concerning issues, Idaho Medicaid Deputy Director Juliet Charron told the Idaho Capital Sun in a May 19 interview. 'Could there be bumps in the road? Of course,' she said. But that's why she said Idaho officials are communicating proactively. People who have questions or concerns should reach out to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, or United or Molina, she said. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has resources about the contract change available online on a frequently asked questions webpage. Patients can also contact Health and Welfare, or the new insurance companies. Here's how: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare: Website: Email: IdahoDuals@ Phone: 833-814-8568 UnitedHealthcare Website: Phone: 866-785-1628 for Medicaid participants, or 855-819-5909 for providers Molina Healthcare of Idaho: Website: Phone: 866-403-8293 for Medicaid participants, or 844-239-4914 for providers The health insurer Blue Cross of Idaho previously ran Idaho's dual Medicaid and Medicare plans. Last year, Idaho went out for a competitive bid for the contract for the first time. Initially, there was a six-month gap starting this June when Blue Cross's contract ended and United would've started, Idaho Reports reported in January. But since then, Health and Welfare has worked with the new insurance companies to start June 1. One United plan is available starting Jan. 1, 2026. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
CBS News
24-04-2025
- Health
- CBS News
CDC and California offer $25 gift cards to encourage bird flu testing
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now working with California to offer gift cards to encourage people to get tested or vaccinated near farms with bird flu, the state says. Dubbed the Avian Flu Influenza Area Surveillance Testing or AFAST project, some clinics in the state are giving $25 in gift cards to people in the community to get swabbed for a potential bird flu infection or to get a shot of the regular seasonal influenza vaccine. The effort runs contrary to rumors on social media that states have stopped testing symptomatic farmworkers for bird flu, at the behest of the CDC under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "There has been no change to our guidance for testing suspect cases, we are not aware of any symptomatic workers not being referred or tested for H5N1, and it is very unlikely that testing would be declined if H5N1 was suspected," a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health said in an email. A CDC spokesperson also said their guidance had not changed. The agency continues to recommend people with symptoms seek testing from their doctor or local health department. Authorities in neighboring Nevada told CBS News they are also continuing to offer testing and treatment to farm workers exposed to bird flu infections in their animals. In Idaho, another state that had seen bird flu infections in farms, authorities said they had not heard of symptomatic workers being discouraged from getting tested. "We have no knowledge of this happening and have not heard any recent reports of symptomatic workers," AJ McWhorter, a spokesperson for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, said in an email. Labs run by state and local health departments are usually the first to conduct initial testing for bird flu, before forwarding the samples on to the CDC for confirmation. Health departments typically announce those "presumptive" detections, even if they turn out later not to be confirmed. In addition to testing people exposed to the virus on farms, California said it is also continuing to check whether other flu cases elsewhere in the state are being caused by bird flu. "To date, all samples tested have been confirmed as seasonal subtypes H1 or H3, which rules out infection with H5N1 [bird flu]. The fact that no other human cases of H5N1 have been identified via subtyping efforts is reassuring," the California spokesperson said.
