New Mexico extends Medicaid for some amid renewal backlog

Apr. 18—More than 200 New Mexicans caught in a Medicaid eligibility limbo can breathe a little easier for the next year.

The state Human Services Department has been working for months to address a backlog of Medicaid enrollees who have filed applications for their benefits to be renewed following the end of a number of federal pandemic-era policies.

Now, the state is giving a one-year benefits extension to 281 New Mexicans in that category who also have disabilities or are receiving long-term care, while state workers continue to work through a flood of other applications.

Those eligible are Medicaid enrollees whose renewals were due after April 1, 2023, and whose renewals have not yet been processed, according to a Human Services Department release. They must have a Level of Care on file with the Medicaid program, which outlines their need for full-time care and supervision.

"These are people who submitted their information, they had everything in order, we just hadn't been able to process due to the high volume," said department spokeswoman Marina Piña.

Piña said the state had to request permission for the extension from the federal government, which oversees Medicaid.

"Because we are speaking about ... definitely one of our most vulnerable populations, we're always looking for ways and seeing how we can make it easier for them to have that continuity of care through Medicaid," she said.

The backlog that's mired the Human Services Department and its Income Support Division came about after the federal government announced the end of pandemic-era protections that temporarily kept people from getting kicked off Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

When the automatic renewals for both those programs ended, Piña said renewal applications started pouring in from more than 1 million New Mexicans. The state brought on more than 1,000 temporary workers to help process the ocean of applications, she said.

Piña said she didn't have an updated number for the backlog, but said it is getting better.

Just this week, she said, the state caught up on SNAP benefit renewals.

As for the 281 New Mexicans who have been given a year's reprieve, Piña said they don't need to take any action but will receive a notice by mail.

This extension applies to those in Medicaid waiver programs including the Community Benefit, Developmental Disabilities Waiver, Mi Via Waiver, Supports Waiver, the Medically Fragile Waiver, and to Medicaid members living in intermediate care facilities and nursing homes.

The extension does not apply to:

* Those whose coverage ended because they did not return renewal packets.

* Those who failed to provide required documentation.

* Those whose Medicaid coverage renewals are scheduled from May onward.

If anyone thinks they are eligible for the extension but haven't received a notification, they maycontact the department at 1-800-283-4465.