The Paper Medicaid ID is Gone for Good

It’s the end of an era. As of Oct. 1, 2011, HHSC is no longer producing or distributing its Form 3087, also known as the paper Medicaid ID.

Like 8-track audio tapes and the floppy disk, this relic from the 20th century is going away for good. No longer will people with Medicaid receive the 3087 in their mailbox each month. No longer will they present the letter-size sheet of paper when they go to a doctor or dentist office, a clinic, or pharmacy for Medicaid services. The paper Medicaid ID has been replaced by the sturdy, plastic Your Texas Benefits Medicaid card. With the new card comes a shift in how a person’s Medicaid eligibility is verified.

Medicaid Providers
Medicaid providers should be prepared to verify a person’s Medicaid eligibility with the new card. The front of the card shows the person’s unique Medicaid ID number. That same number is embedded in a magnetic strip on the back of the card, accessible with a basic swipe-style card reader. With the card, providers have a choice of ways to verify the person’s Medicaid eligibility:

• Enter the person’s Medicaid ID number at the new, secure Medicaid eligibility verification website.
• Visit TexMedConnect on the Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) website.
• Call the TMHP Contact Center at 1-800-925-9126.

Community Service Organizations
Organizations that serve Medicaid clients (i.e., Head Start, Salvation Army, Women, Infants and Children [WIC], etc.) can still use the Medicaid ID number to determine a person’s active Medicaid status:

• Call the Provider Help Desk at 1-855-827-3747.
• Choose Option 3 at the voice prompt.
• Enter the person’s Medicaid ID number from the front of the card.
• Enter the person’s birth date.

For more information about the new Your Texas Benefits Medicaid card or the new Medicaid eligibility verification website, call 1-855-827-3747.

Texas Medicaid Wellness Program

On March 1, 2011, HHSC launched the Texas Medicaid Wellness Program. The Wellness Program is a new care management program taking the place of the previous Medicaid Enhanced Care Program.
All clients who were eligible for the Enhanced Care program were automatically transitioned into the Texas Medicaid Wellness Program as of March 1, 2011.

The goal of the Wellness Program is to promote improved health outcomes by supporting and sustaining the provider-patient relationship. The program supports eligible Medicaid clients with a series of regional care teams consisting of community-based primary registered nurses, pharmacists, social workers, behavioral health specialists, dieticians, certified diabetes educators, and community health workers. Other benefits include diabetes self-management training, a Weight Watchers obesity program, and additional support and resources available via an internet-based patient portal.

For more information on the Wellness Program, please visit the Texas Medicaid Wellness Program Webpage

Clarification of Proposed Payment Reductions for Inpatient Hospital Services

HHSC proposed two updates to the inpatient acute care hospital reimbursement rates related to a no-cost rebasing initiative as well as a one percent reduction to the rebased rates. As a result of public comments received, HHSC will delay implementation of the SDAs that were scheduled for Sept. 1, 2010. However, the one percent reduction will still apply to the rates that are in effect on Aug. 31, 2010. The one percent reduction will be effective Sept. 1, 2010. [Public Notice]

IMPROVE Gives New Voice to Medicaid Providers

Attention Medicaid Providers: HHSC wants to hear from you. Do you have an idea, issue, recurring, or suggestion about Texas Medicaid?  If so, check out the IMPROVE system.

Additional Resources