An effort to provide more local residents with medical care is being considered by Freeborn County staff.

Monday, August 23, 1999

An effort to provide more local residents with medical care is being considered by Freeborn County staff.

Director of Human Services Darryl Meyer explained an upcoming change to MinnesotaCare that could make it easier for residents to apply for the state’s subsidized health care program.

Starting Jan. 1, 2000, counties will be given the option of enrolling residents in the program, instead of requiring them to apply at the state level.

&uot;About half the counties have expressed interest to do that,&uot; Meyer said, noting 10 counties are already prepared to start training their staff for the task of signing people up.

Still, he said he hasn’t determined whether he will recommend Freeborn County take on the added responsibility.

While county employees are already tasked with explaining the state program to eligible residents, Meyer said he’s waiting to see what it will take for the county to provide enrollment opportunities. He said he’s unsure how much training will be required for local staff.

Still, Meyer said he doesn’t expect the added responsibility to take much effort.

&uot;At this point, we aren’t looking at it as major additional work,&uot; he said. While the new duties may not take too much extra time and work on the county’s behalf, Meyer said the new enrollment responsibility could help some families receive better medical care.

With current welfare reform initiatives, Meyer noted some residents move back and forth between MinnesotaCare and medical assistance, meaning they need more help with eligibility and enrollment matters.

Additionally, he said some family members fall into separate categories, some in MinnesotaCare and others in medical assistance. Because the county already deals with medical assistance claims, Meyer said the proposed change could provide a more centralized process for such families.

&uot;There would be benefits to the family since we would handle the whole thing,&uot; he said.

Kathleen Henry, director of health care, families and children for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, said that’s the goal of county enrollment. She said more people will likely get the health care coverage they need.

She said studies indicate there are people in the state not being reached by MinnesotaCare because of the current centralized system.

&uot;Some people actually still don’t know about MinnesotaCare,&uot; she said. &uot;Its getting more rare, though.&uot;

Henry said the new system will hopefully reach residents who are eligible but not enrolled in the program.

As of Jan. 1, there were 106,617 Minnesotans enrolled in MinnesotaCare.