Fall 2022 Newsletter

When Dinah Jean Phillipe joined GBLS as a Harmonix Fellow and GBLS’ first-ever dedicated Children’s Practice Group attorney, she knew she had a major project ahead of her, not only in representing her clients, but also in helping them to access essential resources for daily life. As Attorney Jean Phillippe recognized, “Once clients see you as a helper, they come to you for assistance with needs beyond their case.” 

For many years. GBLS advocates had been adding to a resource database of necessary and often-requested items and services, such as diapers and mental health support, but Attorney Jean Phillippe knew that in order for these resources to be useful, someone had to organize them. As is often the case at GBLS, however, there was no one on staff with the capacity to take on such a time-consuming project in addition to their usual workload. So, Attorney Jean Phillippe decided to hire an intern. 

Flora Meng, an undergraduate student at Tufts University, spent this past summer working as an intern in the Children’s Practice Group, supervised by Attorney Jean Phillippe. Flora’s charge was to update and organize the 150+ different entries  in the resources database. She spent 10 weeks tirelessly reaching out to various community agencies to confirm their work and researching new resources for clients to make the database a more usable tool for advocates. Flora organized the resources into categories, then created resource “spotlights” to highlight the best resources in each category in easy-to-use handouts for clients. The result is a thorough, user-friendly resource database for advocates and clients alike. Thank you, Attorney Jean Phillippe and Flora, for helping GBLS’ clients get the wraparound help they need!

With the official ending of the federal public health emergency coming on January 1, 2023, GBLS advocates are preparing for a flood of  clients who may suddenly lose their MassHealth coverage. MassHealth’s pandemic –related moratorium on coverage terminations is ending and a mandated redetermination process will impact an estimated 2.2 million MassHealth members.

Since the public health emergency was declared in March 2020, MassHealth has not been allowed to terminate or reduce healthcare benefits. This means that members did not lose coverage even if their incomes changed and their qualification for the program was not subject to review, because the need to maintain consistent healthcare coverage was so important during the peak of the pandemic. Now, to keep MassHealth, many members will have to return a review form and meet eligibility criteria. People who have turned 65 since March 2020 are the most at-risk, because the MassHealth eligibility criteria for adults 65 and older is stricter.  

GBLS attorneys Majda Abbas and Mary McGinley, working with other advocates, have been planning for the significant problems that the end of the federal public health emergency is likely to cause for adults aged 65+ due to the complexity of the review process. GBLS and community partners have been advocating with MassHealth for changes to ensure that individuals 65 and older do not lose their MassHealth coverage when the moratorium on terminations ends.  

Before the public health emergency went into effect, MassHealth members had to renew their coverage every year, but the application and renewal process became much more demanding once a member turned 65. People under age 65 can renew with a simple form, online or printed, and some easy-to-obtain documents, but when a MassHealth member turns 65, they have to reapply for coverage by submitting a 42-page application, in addition to verifications, which must be printed and mailed to the MassHealth office. The process is arduous and time-consuming, especially considering that the burden is placed on low-income elders.  

Attorneys Abbas and McGinley have been working with partner organizations and MassHealth to mitigate the anticipated fallout once the health emergency ends. One part of their response has included working to condense the renewal application for older MassHealth members from 42 pages to a more manageable 3-4 pages, however, a new renewal application has not yet been released. In addition, advocates are working to identify organizations to help individuals who need assistance in applying for or renewing coverage when the federal emergency ends. GBLS and others have also been working on outreach and community education, spreading the word through, for example, educational articles and informational flyers sent along with Meals on Wheels deliveries.   

“We are unsure of how many community members will be coming to us for assistance with the public health emergency ending, but the GBLS felt it was necessary to identify potential issues early on and create a plan of action to ensure that we can assist as many community members as possible,” say Attorneys Abbas and McGinley.