Ohio Medicaid working to address 70k applicant backlog

State officials are working on a plan to resolve a backlog of more than 70,000 applications from Ohioans seeking Medicaid benefits (Source: “Ohio backlog in processing Medicaid applications draws federal scrutiny,” Columbus Dispatch, May 5, 2019).

Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran said the number of pending applications has dropped about 30 percent in recent months, but federal regulators remain concerned.

“They have indicated that we are not in a position we need to be in, and they expect more dramatic resolution of this so they have asked us to put together a plan,” Corcoran said.

The delays — most applications have been pending more than 45 days — are causing people to wait to receive health care and creating financial burdens for some providers such as nursing homes caring for residents unable to pay.