The Health Care Authority (HCA), with the Health Benefit Exchange and Department of Social and Health Services has released data from May and June related to disenrollment from the Apple Health program. In May, HCA conducted eligibility reviews for 230,000 Apple Health clients. Roughly 116,000 individuals (5%) of the Apple Health population, were disenrolled from the program. Of those 116,000, 69% of individuals were disenrolled from the program due to not responding to requests for updated information. HCA shared data from the month of June which showed that another 245,000 Washingtonians were due for renewal and an additional 114,000 Washingtonians were disenrolled from the Apple Health program at the July 19 Senate Health & Long Term Care committee interim meeting. This data is also available on the HCA Apple Health client eligibility dashboard.
If an Apple Health client’s coverage is terminated due to failure to renew coverage, there is a 90-day reconsideration period that allows an individual to process a retroactive renewal. Due to the reconsideration period, HCA has confirmed that many Washingtonians who lost coverage as of June have since reenrolled.
While difficult to predict, a high volume of terminations was expected during the first three months of the recertification period, and the number of individuals being disenrolled from the program is expected to begin to decrease by August.
For resources on the Apple Health renewal process, please visit WSHA’s Medicaid Redetermination in Washington state webpage. (Mary Storace)
