In 2018, Medicaid and Marketplace Outreach and Enrollment Work Group member organizations–including Aid in Milan, Michigan Medicine, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, and the Washtenaw Health Plan–assisted low-income, uninsured, underinsured, and other individuals with more than 11,648 Medicaid or Healthy Michigan Plan applications and 741 Health Insurance Marketplace applications. The Washtenaw Health Plan, located in Ypsilanti, also enrolled 147 individuals in the Health Insurance Assistance Program, which provides extra financial support to a subset of Marketplace enrollees in Washtenaw County.
During this year’s open enrollment period, which ran from November 1 – December 15, 2018, the work group also held student-focused enrollment events at Washtenaw Community College in Ypsilanti (11/16); Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti (11/28); and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (12/5). Altogether, these events helped 72 students apply for and access needed health insurance. Fifty-seven student volunteers, recruited and trained by the work group, assisted in these efforts by helping drum up interest and applications through community and college-based outreach.
The Medicaid and Marketplace Outreach and Enrollment Work Group, which has been led by Cindy Bodewes from Michigan Medicine since 2016, has helped more than 30,000 individuals apply for and access health care over the last three years. Going forward, the group anticipates the urgent need to help Healthy Michigan Plan enrollees navigate the state’s pending work requirements to both use and maintain their health insurance coverage.
Incoming co-chairs Doug Weaver from Michigan Medicine and Kimberly Hulbert from St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor will coordinate work group activities in the year ahead. The Washtenaw Health Initiative wishes to extend its deep gratitude to Cindy Bodewes, from Michigan Medicine, for her tremendous leadership and service over the past three years.