MetroHealth Medicaid pilot program extended through April

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has granted Cleveland-based MetroHealth System’s request to extend its MetroHealth Care Plus program through April 30 (Source: “MetroHealth Care Plus insurance program extends coverage through April 30,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Jan. 3, 2014)

The Medicaid waiver program, which went into effect last February, had been scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2013. The extension is meant to ensure a smooth transition of beneficiaries into Ohio's newly expanded Medicaid program. 

Prior to the statewide expansion of Medicaid, the program was the only one of its kind in Ohio, designed to enroll up to 30,000 uninsured adults in Cuyahoga County for free health care. The program covers uninsured adults who earn $14,856 or less (133 percent of the federal poverty level) and who are not eligible for regular Medicaid or Medicare.

To pay for the Care Plus program, MetroHealth is using $36 million that it gets each year from county taxpayers to qualify for $64 million in federal Medicaid matching funds. No state money is being used.

To date, MetroHealth has enrolled 28,000 people in the program.