Family and Children's Medicaid MA-3200 INITIAL CONTACT

II. Policy principles

A. An individual or his representative has the right to make an application for Medicaid on the day he comes into the agency requesting medical or financial assistance. This includes Medicaid, WFFA, EA, LIEAP, county general assistance, CIP and Project Share. An application for Work First is also an application for Medicaid.

B. In some situations, an individual must be given an appointment to return to the agency to complete the application. Refer to V. below. The date of application is the date the individual first appears in the agency.

C. An individual or his representative must not be discouraged from applying for Medicaid. If an individual comes to the agency seeking Work First, he must be given an opportunity to apply for Medicaid. If not, the county could be cited for discouragement.

D. All agency staff must be aware of the individual’s right to apply and the rules of discouragement.

E. The county DSS must make arrangements and have a signed agreement with each Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) and each Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) on the requirement of staffing the facility with an Income Maintenance Caseworker (IMC) for the counties in which facilities are located to take MPW and MIC applications. The agreement must be updated yearly. The agreement must be written and signed by the director of each involved agency. Refer to III. B. below, for procedures.

F. The agency is responsible for making other arrangements, such as a home visit, for individuals who are physically or mentally unable to come to the DSS office to apply and who do not have a representative willing or able to act on their behalf.

REVISED 04/01/11 - CHANGE NO. 01-11

(II)

G. The agency must be opened to the public for at least the same total number of hours per week as those hours of operation in effect at that agency on February 1, 2002. In this context, open to the public does not include child welfare services, adult protective services, specialized activities, or group work after hours.

During official business hours, the agency is not permitted to close Medicaid and/or WFFA intake during lunch hours or in order to conduct staff meetings or training sessions. Individuals requesting Medicaid must be given the opportunity to apply on the date they appear at the DSS and cannot be turned away or asked to return at a later time.