Icario/Harris Poll Survey Uncovers Challenges Associated with Educating Medicaid Members on Redetermination and Re-enrollment

Findings Reaffirm Significant Disparities Between Higher-and Lower-Income Members, While Only 56% of Members Report Receiving Helpful Info About Medicaid Redetermination and Re-enrollment in the Past 12 Months

MINNEAPOLIS, May 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Icario, the healthcare industry’s largest health action company, today revealed the findings from an Icario/Harris Poll survey examining communication preferences as it relates to members going through Medicaid re-enrollment. The survey, ​​conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Icario among more than 600 Medicaid members, found that 79% of members who had an annual household income of $75,000 or more say they received information on Medicaid redetermination over the past 12 months, while only 69% of members who had an annual household income of less than $75,000 say the same.

Further, nearly three in 10 (29%) members say they either didn’t receive or don’t know if they received information about Medicaid redetermination or re-enrollment in the last year, signaling a population at risk of losing healthcare coverage. Redetermination requires states to identify who is no longer eligible for Medicaid coverage and perform outreach to members to provide the required information substantiating eligibility; one study estimates the lifting of the Public Health Emergency, which will trigger re-enrollment for millions, could lead to as many as 15 million people losing insurance.

“Medicaid enrollment has grown significantly during the two-plus years of the pandemic, so redetermination and re-enrollment is new ground for many people,” said Sara Ratner, senior vice president of government markets and strategic initiatives at Icario. “There is a category of people who are new to Medicaid and are not eligible for auto-enrollment, and they will experience difficulties if they’re not familiar with how redetermination works.”

The survey found that only 56% of members received helpful information about Medicaid redetermination or re-enrollment, meaning there is a clear opportunity for plans to increase their level of engagement with members.

Medicaid Members’ Preferred Communication Channels
The survey also looked at how Medicaid members have received communications about their medical benefits and their preferred ways to receive benefits communications. The results showed that 44% of members prefer to receive medical benefits communications via email, and 43% of members say they received such emails from their plan.

Paper mail came away as the second-most preferred communication channel among Medicaid members, with 40% of members preferring this format and 56% indicating they indeed received paper mail communications from their plan. Older members drove the popularity of paper mail; among members 55-plus, 73% say they received paper mail communications, and 59% say that was their preference.

“The good news is, for people who are older and tend to have more stable housing, paper mail makes sense,” Ratner said. “Meanwhile, younger people and those with less stable employment not only don’t prefer it, but they also don’t remember getting it.”

Overall, email (44%) and paper mail (40%) were identified as the most preferred forms of communication, followed by live phone calls (19%), text messages (17%), in-person support (13%), automated phone calls (8%), social media (7%) and informational videos (6%).

** This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Icario Health from April 26-28, 2022, among 621 Medicaid subscribers. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval.  For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, please contact icario@bocacommunications.com.

About Icario
Icario is the leading health action company focused on connecting people to health. Icario uses pioneering behavioral research, data science, and our adaptive multi-channel platform to deliver personalization at scale for the most trusted healthcare organizations in all 50 states, including eight of the ten largest health plans. Learn more at www.icariohealth.com.

BOCA Communications for Icario
icario@bocacommunications.com