Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Office of Health and Human Services
Division of Medical Assistance
600 Washington Street
Boston, MA  02111
www.mass.gov/dma	
	MassHealth
	All Provider Bulletin 118
	January 2003 

	TO:	All Providers Participating in MassHealth

	FROM:	Wendy E. Warring, Commissioner

	RE:	Changes to MassHealth Basic and Buy-In Eligibility Rules

Background	The Massachusetts legislature has enacted into law a change in the eligibility requirements for MassHealth Basic and MassHealth Buy-In coverage types.  The effective date of this change will be April 1, 2003, unless the legislature moves the effective date forward.  In no event will this date be any sooner than February 15, 2003.
Persons who are under the age of 65 and who are considered “long-term unemployed,” according to the Division’s member eligibility regulations at 130 CMR 505.006(B)(1), will no longer be eligible for MassHealth Basic or MassHealth Buy-In unless they are:
•	identified by the Department of Mental Health (DMH) to the Division as receiving services or are on a waiting list to receive services from DMH; are “long-term unemployed”; and have income at or below 100% of the federal poverty level; or 
•	receiving Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) through the Department of Transitional Assistance.
	
Member Notice	On January 3, 2003, the Division mailed a packet to all affected members.  The purpose of this mailing is to give members an opportunity to have their eligibility reviewed under the new rules and to determine if they are eligible under any other MassHealth coverage type.  A member may continue to be eligible for MassHealth if the member is pregnant, a parent, disabled, or HIV-positive.  HIV-positive members must provide proof of their HIV-positive status to the Division.  Potentially disabled members must complete a disability supplement.  The disability supplement may be downloaded from the Division’s Web site at www.mass.gov/dma.  

Questions	Providers with questions about this bulletin may call MassHealth Provider Services at 617-628-4141 or 1‑800-325-5231.  Members who have questions about their MassHealth eligibility may call the MassHealth Customer Service Center at 1‑800‑841-2900 (TTY: 1-800-497-4648 for the deaf and hard of hearing).