RSMo 208.151.1 effective August 28, 2013, allows certain individuals under the age of 26 who were in foster care to be eligible for healthcare coverage through the Children's Division (CD).
To qualify, a person must:
NOTE: To allow for continuity of coverage for former foster care individuals, CD currently auto-enrolls participants in Former Foster Care Youth coverage at the time of age-out; however, a gap in coverage may exist.
If the applicant is eligible for MO HealthNet through FSD and they are currently receiving former foster care youth coverage (ME 38) through the Children's Division, do not reject the application due to active ME 38. Send an email, with a subject line of AC ME 38 - NEEDS TO BE CLOSED to Cole.MHNPolicy@dss.mo.gov. Include:
NOTE: FSD staff must approve MO HealthNet the day the former foster care coverage shows as closed in MXIX. Due to the overnight batch process and to prevent gaps in coverage, CD will NOT close ME 38 coverage before a weekend or holiday. Requests received on these days will be processed on the following business day.
EXAMPLE: Mr. Parsons has active Former Foster Care Youth when he applies for MO HealthNet for Aged, Blind, and Disabled (MHABD) and is found eligible. The Eligibility Specialist (ES) sends an email to Cole.MHNPolicy@dss.mo.gov to have the AC ME 38 closed. Once the Former Foster Care Youth coverage is closed, the ES approves the MHABD application.
NOTE: Current system functionality provides qualifying participants who have formerly received coverage under the Former Foster Care Youth program to be automatically reinstated when eligibility for a MO HealthNet program is ended without further action needed by FSD staff; however if the participant failed to report an address change to CD while receiving health coverage, the Former Foster Care Youth coverage will not be automatically reinstated.
EXAMPLE: Mr. Jones was given Former Foster Care Youth coverage when he turned 18. At age 20, he moved out of Missouri to attend college in Arkansas and his coverage was closed. When he graduated at age 22, Mr. Jones moved back to Missouri, but did not notify CD to have his former foster care youth coverage reopened. He applied for the MO HealthNet for Aged, Blind, Disabled program; however his resources did not fall below the resource maximum for a single individual. FSD rejected his MHABD application, and his case was then referred to CD to have his former foster care youth coverage reopened.
If a former foster care individual has been determined ineligible for a MO HealthNet for Aged, Blind, and Disabled program through FSD, the Eligibility Specialist (ES) will send an email to Cole.MHNPolicy@dss.mo.gov so that the individual may be referred to the CD for coverage as eligibility for the Former Foster Care Youth program may exist.
Individuals who qualify for former foster care youth coverage may also contact the MO HealthNet open enrollment broker by telephone at 800-348-6627, or Children's Division at http://dss.mo.gov/cd/ or by telephone at 573-522-8024.