How To Apply For Medicaid In Virginia. One-fifth of healthcare spending, or Medicaid funding, is a significant source of support for nursing homes, hospitals, and healthcare jobs. State governments have the freedom to employ Medicaid to address healthcare priorities like the opioid epidemic thanks to the federal matching funding guarantee’s indefinite commitment.
The funding model also enables states to use Medicaid as a safety net when the need for coverage grows due to changes in the economy and other factors. Medicaid is the main source of coverage for low-income Americans and has a significant impact on both federal and state budgets, it is a frequent topic of discussion. You’ll learn about Medicaid, who is eligible for it, and how to apply for it in Virginia from us.
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What is Medicaid?
A government-funded assistance program is Medicaid. It serves people with modest incomes of all ages. Most of the time, patients are not required to pay any fees related to reimbursed medical expenses.
Sometimes a little co-payment is necessary. A collaborative federal-state effort is behind it. From one state to the next, it varies. State and local governments manage Medicaid in accordance with federal regulations.
What is Medicare?
Medicare is a type of health insurance. Trust funds that persons who are covered have contributed to are used to pay for medical expenses. It primarily assists seniors, regardless of their financial situation, as well as younger disabled individuals and dialysis patients.
Patients use deductibles to cover a portion of hospital and other expenses. Only a minimal monthly charge is necessary for non-hospital coverage. The government funds the Medicare program. It is virtually the same everywhere around the country and is managed by the federal organization Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
What Does Medicaid Cover in Virginia?
Virginia Medicaid offers three tiers of benefits.
Members who have full coverage receive a wide range of advantages. For those who qualify, this also includes pharmacy, hospital, and doctor services.
Time-limited coverage is available to those who reach the spend-down threshold or to women who get 24 months of family planning services after their Medicaid coverage expires at the conclusion of their pregnancy.
Medicaid will fund Medicare premiums for coverage that is related to Medicare. Payments for the Medicare deductible and coinsurance may also be included.
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Medicaid eligibility in Virginia?
Make sure you are eligible before learning how to apply for Medicaid in Virginia. Depending on your income and the size of your family, Medicaid might be able to offer you free or inexpensive treatment.
Before you may become eligible for Medicaid, you must fulfill the program’s eligibility standards. In Virginia, you must be a member of one of the approved patient groups to qualify for Medicaid. You won’t be qualified for the program if you don’t meet this requirement. These medical specialties are:
- Children
- Pregnant women
- Parents or caretakers of relatives
- Adults between the ages of 21 and 64 who suffer from a mental illness.
- Other adults who qualify.
- Adults between the ages of 18 and 26 who are former foster children.
Additionally, you must be a Virginia resident with a current state ID. You will also need to have documentation demonstrating your US citizenship and supply your Social Security number. In addition to these requirements, you must present proof of any disabilities or mental illnesses, as well as your history as a foster child.
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How Much Does Medicaid Cost in Virginia?
Cost estimates will differ from person to person and depend on the health treatments required. If you have to pay a copay, it will usually be a little amount, usually not more than $30. Costs for clinic, medical, and eye visits start at just $1.
Hospital outpatient visits, home health visits, and rehab can be had for as little as $3. The fee is $100 if you are admitted to the hospital.
Medicaid in Virginia: Costs and Coverage – Medicaid services that may be provided include pediatric care, dental care, durable medical equipment and supplies, early and routine screening, diagnosis, and treatment, family planning and birth control, long-term care, prescription drugs, clinic services, community-based residential services, and mental health services.
10 Things to Know About Medicaid
1. The nation’s public health insurance program for low-income individuals is called Medicaid.
In the United States, Medicaid is a government-run healthcare program for those with limited financial resources. Medicaid covers one in five Americans, many of whom have complicated and expensive medical requirements. The program serves as the country’s main source of long-term care insurance.
The vast majority of Medicaid beneficiaries lack access to other reasonably priced health insurance plans. Medicaid lowers out-of-pocket expenses to a minimal while providing coverage for a variety of healthcare services.
Medicaid funds hospitals, community health centers, doctors, nursing homes, and positions in the healthcare industry, making up close to a fifth of all personal healthcare spending in the US.
The program is governed by Title XIX of the Social Security Act and a substantial body of federal rules, which specify federal Medicaid criteria as well as state options and authorities.
Medicaid is administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
2. Medicaid is set up as a joint federal-state initiative
Under federal standards, states are free to decide who is covered, what services are covered, how health care is delivered, and how doctors and hospitals are compensated when running Medicaid programs.
States may also apply for Section 1115 waivers in order to test and put into practice strategies that are not mandated by federal law but that the Secretary of HHS believes are essential to achieving the objectives of the program. Because of this adaptability, state Medicaid programs vary greatly.
The Medicaid entitlement is predicated on two guarantees: first, states are promised federal matching funds without a cap for qualified services given to eligible enrollees, and second, all Americans who meet Medicaid eligibility conditions are assured coverage.
A mechanism in the statute that ensures a match of at least 50% and offers a higher federal match rate for poorer states determines the match rate for the majority of Medicaid enrollees.
3. The Medicaid program has changed
The original 1965 Medicaid statute linked monetary support (either federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) starting in 1972 or Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)) to Medicaid eligibility for parents, kids, the poor elderly, the blind, and individuals with disabilities.
States may decide to offer insurance at income levels higher than those that qualify for financial aid.
Congress has gradually raised the federally mandated minimum standards and given states greater alternatives for coverage, particularly for kids, expectant mothers, and people with disabilities. Additionally, Medicaid must help low-income Medicare recipients with premiums and cost-sharing, and Congress ordered that states must allow working persons with disabilities to “buy-in” to Medicaid.
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which covers low-income children above the Medicaid cut-off with an improved federal match rate, was founded in 1997 after the connection between Medicaid eligibility and assistance was severed in 1996.
Following these policy changes, states launched outreach initiatives and streamlined the application process to enroll eligible children in both Medicaid and CHIP for the first time. Children’s Medicaid coverage expansions heralded the start of later changes that transformed Medicaid into an income-based health insurance program.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded Medicaid to non-elderly adults in 2010 as part of a larger health coverage push, with enhanced federal matching payments, up to 138% FPL ($17,236 for an individual in 2019).
Prior to the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid eligibility required categorical eligibility and meeting income requirements, leaving the majority of low-income adults without access to coverage options. In addition, federal law excluded adults without dependent children from the program no matter how poor they were, and income eligibility for parents was typically well below the federal poverty level.
The ACA modifications basically did away with categorical eligibility and made it possible for people without dependent children to be covered; but, as a result of a 2012 Supreme Court decision, the Medicaid expansion of the ACA is now essentially a state-optional measure. All states were obliged by the ACA to modernize and simplify the Medicaid enrollment and eligibility procedures.
The percentage of children without insurance has historically decreased as a result of Medicaid expansions, while the percentage of adults without insurance has dramatically decreased in states that have adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion. Many Medicaid-eligible adults are employed, but few have access to employment insurance, and many had no affordable insurance options prior to the ACA.
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4. One in five Americans are covered by Medicaid, which supports a variety of demographics
Medicaid provides health and long-term care to millions of America’s poorest and most vulnerable individuals, acting as a high-risk pool for the commercial insurance market.
In the 2017 fiscal year, it covered more than 75 million Americans with low incomes. 37 states had passed legislation governing Medicaid expansion as of February 2019.
12.6 million additional persons were included to the expansion group, according to data from FY 2017 (when fewer states had enacted the expansion). More than four out of ten (43%) of all Medicaid enrollees are children, whereas one out of every four enrollees is an older adult or a person with a disability.
Nearly half of all births in the typical state are covered by Medicaid, as are 83% of poor children, 48% of children with special health care needs, 45% of non-elderly adults with disabilities (such as physical impairments, developmental disabilities like autism, traumatic brain injury, serious mental illness, and Alzheimer’s disease), and more than 60% of nursing home residents. Medicaid also plays a significant role for certain populations.
States may decide to offer Medicaid to children from higher-income households who have major disabilities in order to fill in the gaps in private health insurance and reduce out-of-pocket expenses.
Along with helping about 1 in 5 Medicare recipients with their premiums and cost-sharing, Medicaid also offers many of them services that are not covered by Medicare, particularly long-term care.
5. A variety of health and long-term care services are covered under Medicaid
In order to fulfill the many needs of the people it assists; Virginia Medicaid covers a wide variety of services. In addition to the nationally required services, several states decide to pay for extras like prescription medications, physical therapy, eyeglasses, and dental care.
The coverage for Medicaid expansion adults includes the 10 “essential health benefits” of the ACA, which also include increased mental health and substance use treatment services.
Medicaid is essential in both addressing the opioid problem and providing Medicaid recipients with access to mental health care more generally. Children who qualify for Medicaid can get a wide range of benefits known as Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) programs. For kids with impairments, EPSDT is especially crucial because private insurance frequently falls short of meeting their needs.
Medicaid covers long-term care, including nursing home care, many homes, and community-based long-term services and supports, unlike commercial health insurance and Medicare.
Medicaid now spends more than half of its long-term care budget on services that help the elderly and those with disabilities live independently in their own homes or communities rather than in facilities.
Federal regulations prohibit states from charging premiums in Medicaid for beneficiaries with income less than 150% FPL, prohibit or limit cost-sharing for some populations and services, and limit total out-of-pocket costs to no more than 5% of family income. This is because Medicaid and CHIP enrollees have limited ability to pay out-of-pocket costs due to their modest incomes.
Some states have acquired waivers to impose cost-sharing and premiums that are more than what is permitted by federal regulations. Although a lot of these waivers are aimed at expansion adults, several also apply to other groups that can be eligible through conventional procedures.
6. Private managed care programs provide care for the majority of Medicaid beneficiaries
The majority of Medicaid recipients—more than two thirds—are enrolled in private managed care plans that have agreements with states to deliver complete services, while others get their care under the fee-for-service model. Through their networks of providers, managed-care plans are in charge of assuring access to Medicaid services and are financially liable for their costs.
States used to restrict managed care to kids and families, but they are now progressively extending it to people with complex needs.
The majority of states now provide risk-based managed care plans that encompass long-term treatments and support. Most states are working to implement a variety of delivery and payment reforms, such as patient-centered medical homes, better physical and behavioral health care integration, and the creation of “value-based purchasing” strategies that link Medicaid provider payments to health outcomes and other performance metrics.
Primary care is primarily obtained from community health centers, and many Medicaid participants receive emergency and inpatient hospital treatment from safety-net facilities, such as public hospitals and academic medical centers.
Medicaid covers a range of long-term services and supports, including institutional care delivered in nursing homes (NFs) and intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities (ICF-IDs). Home and community-based services (HCBS) enable people to live independently in their own homes or other community settings.
HCBS accounted for 57% of all Medicaid LTSS spending in FY 2016, while institutional LTSS accounted for 43%. Compared to 1995 (twenty years earlier), when institutional settings accounted for 82 percent of national Medicaid LTSS expenditures, this represents a significant shift.
7. Medicaid makes it easier to get medical treatment
A substantial body of data demonstrates that Medicaid recipients have much better access to care than people without insurance and are less likely to delay or forego necessary care due to cost. Furthermore, Medicaid users’ rates of care access and satisfaction are on par with those of persons with private insurance. The U.S. has seen a significant decrease in newborn and child mortality as a result of Medicaid coverage for low-income pregnant women and their children.
A increasing body of evidence shows that Medicaid participation throughout children is linked to lower rates of hospitalization and emergency department visits in later life, greater long-term educational attainment, reduced disability, and lower rates of teen death. Second-order fiscal consequences like better tax collections as a result of adulthood earnings increases are also advantages.
According to research, state Medicaid expansions to adults are linked to better self-reported health, more access to care, and lower adult mortality.
Due to general provider shortages and geographic provider maldistribution, Medicaid continues to face difficulties in providing access to specific clinicians, including psychiatrists, some specialists, and dentists.
Low Medicaid payment rates, particularly among specialists, have, however, long been linked to reduced physician Medicaid participation. According to their agreements with the states, managed-care plans, which now provide care for the majority of Medicaid patients, are in charge of making sure that provider networks are sufficient.
There is no proof that doctors’ Medicaid participation is dwindling. A 2015 poll found that after January 2014, when the ACA’s coverage expansions went into force fully, 4 in 10 primary care doctors who accepted Medicaid reported seeing more Medicaid patients.
Medicaid expands the state’s ability to provide access to early interventions and treatment options for those who are battling with opioid addiction. The Medicaid expansion has given states more funds and allowed them to cover many adults with addictions who were previously not eligible for the program. 4 in 10 non-elderly persons who are addicted to opioids are covered by Medicaid.
8. The federal government and the states both contribute to the cost of Medicaid.
The federal government and the states both contribute to its funding. Medicaid spending by states is matched by the federal government. Based on a federal formula, the federal match percentage varies by state and ranges from a minimum of 50% to almost 75% in the poorest state. According to the ACA, the government match rate for newly eligible adults was 100% from 2014 to 2016, gradually declining to 90% in 2020 and then to 93% in 2019.
State Medicaid programs are able to adapt to demographic and economic changes, shifting coverage needs, technological advances, public health emergencies like the opioid addiction crisis, disasters, and other uncontrollable events thanks to the federal matching structure, which also gives states the resources to cover their low-income residents.
Because federal Medicaid matching funds are always available, states are less under financial strain when enrollment is high during economic downturns. While Congress has twice temporarily increased federal matching rates during economic downturns to enhance assistance for states, federal matching rates do not automatically respond to changes in the economy.
In FY 2017, the sum of all federal and state Medicaid spending was $577 billion. After Social Security and Medicare, Medicaid is the third-largest domestic program in the federal budget, accounting for 9.5% of total spending in FY 2017. After K–12 education, Medicaid accounted for the second-largest portion of state budgets in 2017.
The main source of federal funding (55.1%) for state budgets comes from federal Medicaid matching monies. Medicaid provides for 26.5% of all state spending after taking into account federal and state funding. States are interested in cost control and maintaining the integrity of the program since Medicaid has a significant impact on state finances.
Following the ACA’s rollout, enrollment and spending both grew dramatically, although they have since moderated. Higher costs for prescription drugs, long-term services and supports, behavioral health services, and policy decisions to implement targeted provider rate increases were cited as factors putting upward pressure on Medicaid spending in FYs 2018 and 2019, though slower caseload growth assisted in containing that growth.
9. Medicaid expenditure is primarily allocated to the elderly and those with disabilities.
One in four Medicaid patients are elderly or disabled, yet they account for over two thirds of Medicaid spending, which reflects high per-enrollee expenses for both acute and long-term care. Due to restricted Medicare coverage and a lack of accessible private insurance options, Medicaid is the main payer for institutional and community-based long-term services and support.
The five percent of beneficiaries with the highest costs account for more than half of Medicaid spending. However, Medicaid is less expensive per enrollee than commercial insurance, partly as a result of lower Medicaid provider payment rates.
According to analysis, the average cost of health care for adult Medicaid users would be more than 25% higher if they had employment-based insurance. In addition, the growth of Medicaid spending per enrollee has been slower than that of commercial insurance premiums and other measures of health spending.
10. The majority of people have positive opinions on Medicaid.
According to surveys of public opinion, Medicaid is widely supported. Three out of ten Americans who have ever been insured personally are among the seven out of ten who claim to have ever had a connection with Medicaid. Majorities, regardless of political affiliation, think favorably of Medicaid and believe that the program is effective.
Furthermore, polling indicates that few Americans support cuts to federal Medicaid financing. In addition to having widespread support, Medicaid also enjoys very strong support from the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and children with special health care requirements, all of whom Medicaid serves disproportionately.
How to apply for Medicaid in Virginia?
There are a variety of ways to enroll in Medicaid in Virginia. You can:
- Apply online via healthcare.gov, which is Virginia’s health insurance marketplace.
- Fill out the online application at www.commonhelp.virginia.gov
- Apply over the phone by calling the Cover Virginia Call Center at 1-855-242-8282 (TDD: 1-888-221-1590). Help is available Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Saturday, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.
- Complete a paper application (English version; Spanish version) and ma
il it in or drop it off at your local Department of Social Services Office.
- If you also want to apply for other benefits, you can call the Virginia Department of Social Services Enterprise Call Center at 1-855-635-4370.
FAQs on How to Apply for Medicaid in Virginia
How do I get approved for Medicaid in VA?
Individuals or families may apply for Medicaid online or through their local Department of Social Services, as well as by calling Cover Virginia at 1-855-242-8282. Aged, blind or disabled individuals or married couples may apply for Medicaid online by using CommonHelp. Paper applications may be downloaded.
How long does it take to get approved for Medicaid in Virginia?
It may take up to 45 days to get a decision on your application. To check your status, you can log in to your account at commonhelp.virginia.gov by clicking the Check My Benefits button or call Cover Virginia at 1-855-242-8282 (TDD: 1-888-221-1590). Is there only one type of Medicaid coverage?
How much does Virginia Medicaid cost?
Medicaid has health coverage programs for adults in Virginia who qualify. There are no enrollment costs and no monthly premiums for adults between 19-64 years old who qualify. Their income must be within the limits.
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