What's new at MLS

We have two piece of BIG news in P-EBT land:   1.  P-EBT for September:  DTA and DESE pursued and were approved for September P-EBT benefits for Massachusetts students. This includes P-EBT for the delayed start of schools as well as P-EBT for any children in remote learning…

MassHealth has operated under a comprehensive 1115 Demonstration program for most people under 65 and not needing nursing home care since 1997. The 1115 Demo has been renewed at 3 to 5 year intervals ever since then.  The current demonstration authorization period runs from July 1,…

Thank you to all of you who joined yesterday’s Zoom call.  102 participants! Wow, we figured you were all vacationing. It was a pleasure to have you on the call along with our national partners from FRAC. THANK YOU for all you do to serve low income Massachusetts…

In follow up to Tuesday’s SNAP Coalition meeting, there are important updates we’d like to share.  In terms of a “perfect storm” of challenges, in early August many parts of MA suffered extensive power outages in early August; the $600/week federal pandemic unemployment…

We are writing to give you some critical updates on public charge, current data on the number of Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) cards that remain unpinned, and the school districts that might be able to elect universal free school meal status (Community Eligibility Provision or CEP).   Public…

Health Connecter Reissuing RFIs in Late July- Early August; Response Required Within 30 Days:  During the COVID-19 emergency, the Health Connector had stopped terminating or downgrading members for failure to respond to a Request for Information (RFI). Now, in preparation for annual…

Enhanced benefits in MassHealth Family Assistance. The benefits available to people enrolled in MassHealth Family Assistance has just gotten a lot better for people with serious health conditions who need skilled facility-based care but don't need to stay in a hospital and can't safely…

  Save the Date: Next Health Care Working Group –July 22, 2020 3-4:30 ·         Health Connector –Rocky start for its new customer service vendor ·         More info…

When it comes to how to best support the efforts of the SNAP Coalition and the anti-hunger community towards anti-racism and equitable policy changes, we at MLRI are constantly learning, and want to continue learning from all of you. Below we have compiled some resources and information, along with…

The Health Connector is implementing a series of consumer-facing changes.  We are forwarding the MTF announcement of the first set including more convenient ways to pay premiums. More improvements are scheduled for later in the month.  ---------- Forwarded message…