SR 02-40 Dated 11/02

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases:

·   the creation of new District Office #78, the NH Healthy Kids District Office (NHHK DO); and

·   the procedures for Phase 1 of the centralization of the processing of Healthy Kids Gold-only (HKG-only) cases and/or Medical Coverage for Pregnant Women-only (MCPW-only) cases, and cases that are open for both Healthy Kids Gold and Silver at the new DO.

Phase 1 of the centralization of HKG-only cases, MCPW-only cases, and HKG/HKS combination cases at NHHK DO will involve the following six (6) District Offices:

HKG cases, MCPW cases and HKG/HKS combination cases that are open for other programs such as cash, food stamps, Foster Care, Child Care, Adoption Subsidies, Refugee Assistance, or any type of medical assistance including In and Out and MEAD, will continue to be processed at the District Office applicable to the client’s place of residence. HK Gold cases managed by the DCYF Fiscal Specialists are not being transferred to the NH Healthy Kids DO.

BACKGROUND

The centralization of Healthy-Kids was initiated and planned by representatives from the Division of Family Assistance (DFA), Managers of Administration (MOA), Office of Health Planning and Medicaid (OHPM), and NH Healthy Kids (NHHK) to:

·   expedite the processing of applications for the HKG, HKS, and MCPW medical coverage groups;

·   provide a more efficient process for managing HKG, HKS, and MCPW cases;

·   simplify the application process and ability to access information about medical coverage for clients and community partners; and

·   provide one specialized office to facilitate communication with and thereby improve the services, follow-up, and referrals made by statewide community agencies and community partners.

Phase 1 of the centralization will begin on November 4, 2002 and will involve the transfer of more than 60% of the Division’s unduplicated Healthy Kids Gold-only, Medical Coverage for Pregnant Women-Only and HKG/HKS combination caseload. Phase two, anticipated to begin next year, will add the balance of the caseload from the remaining District Offices, based upon staff capability.

POLICY

Effective November 4, 2002, the new NH Healthy Kids District Office (NHHK DO) will begin processing all Healthy Kids Gold-only cases, Medical Coverage for Pregnant Women-only cases, and cases that are open for both Gold and Silver Healthy Kids medical coverage, from the following District Offices involved in Phase 1 of the centralization process:

Phase 1 of the Centralization

The internal New HEIGHTS transfer of electronic case records from the 6 DOs involved in Phase 1 of the transfer to the new NHHK DO will occur the evening of November 1, 2002. The physical move of employees and paper case records from the DOs involved in the transfer, however, will be staggered over four days beginning Friday November 8, 2002.

The address and phone number for the new NHHK DO is as follows:

NH Healthy Kids Corp

Division of Family Assistance

25 Hall St, Suite 300

Concord NH 03301-3477

Toll Free: 1-877-464-2447

Fax: 1-603-228-8940

TDD Relay: 1-800-735-2964

NOTE: The additional four-digit zip code extension, "3477," is required on all correspondence to the NHHK DO to ensure timely mail delivery.

HKG cases, MCPW cases, or HKG/HKS combination cases from the offices involved in the centralization process that are also open for other DFA cash or medical assistance programs will continue to be processed in the District Office applicable to the client’s place of residence. District Offices not involved in Phase 1 of the centralization process will continue to process HKG, MCPW, and HKG/HKS combination applications and redeterminations in accordance with current procedures.

PROCEDURES FOR THE DISTRICT OFFICES INVOLVED IN THE TRANSFER

The physical transfer of staff and the HKG-only, MCPW-only, and HKG/HKS combination caseloads from the 6 District Offices involved in Phase 1 will encompass moving all necessary paper case files, personal computers, and desk equipment to the NHHK DO as well as setting up the workstations assigned to the Family Services Specialists (FSS) that will be transferred.

Transition Schedule

The physical move of the designated FSS from their offices to the NHHK DO will proceed as follows:

Preparing Paper Case Files

On Friday October 11, 2002 a list of the cases that would be involved in the transfer was emailed to the 6 DOs involved in Phase 1 of the centralization. Those cases on the list as well as any new cases that arrive through the date of the physical transfer, must be prepared according to the following directions:

NOTE: Paper Healthy Kids Gold and Medical Coverage for Pregnant Women case files should be kept separated from Healthy Kids Silver case files until after the move.

·   Place all open active files in one set of boxes.

·   Place all historical files with up to 2 years of history in a second set of boxes.

·   Place all Healthy Kids Silver files in a third set of boxes.

·   Place all mail to be worked on and November mail-in redetermination applications in an envelope to be moved with the FSS’s personal workstation belongings.

NOTE: Historical files with more than 2 years of data must be destroyed according to current procedures prior to the move to the new DO.

The above boxes must all be labeled "NHHKCORP [DO Name]". For example, if moving records from the Concord DO write NHHKCORP CONCORD DO on each box packed. In addition, all boxes must also be labeled in accordance with the material packaged within, as follows:

·   "Active"

·   "Historical"

·   "HKS Records"

As soon as possible after the boxes are packed, the MOA’s must report the total number of boxes to be moved to Robert Newell, via email, so that transportation details can be finalized.

Client Calls During the Transition

Support staff will continue to handle all client calls to the DOs involved in Phase 1 of the centralization in the same manner as is done now, keeping the following in mind:

Between November 4, 2002 and the specific move date for each DO involved in the transfer, New HEIGHTS will display the new NHHK DO and caseworker on the case, while the paper files may not be available to the newly assigned FSS until the physical transition has been accomplished.

To ensure timely service to clients who call one of the 6 District Offices between November 4, 2002 and the move date for the DO, support staff must perform an Inquiry on New HEIGHTS to determine the town of residence of the caller and:

·   if the caller is from the DO’s catchment area, assist the caller, if possible, or transfer the caller to the current HKG FSS Specialist or Supervisor in the support staff’s DO; or

·   if the caller is not from the DO’s catchment area, assist the caller, if possible, or refer the caller to the DO applicable to the caller’s place of residence.

Client Mail Received During the Transition

Mail received in the 6 District Offices relating to HKG cases, MCPW cases, HKG/HKS combination cases or pending HKS cases from the period November 4, 2002 to the date of the DO’s physical move, must be delivered to the current FSS handling the case.

After the DO’s physical move, all HKG-related, HKG/HKS-related, or MCPW-related mail or applications received by the 6 DOs involved in the transfer, must be forwarded via courier mail to the NHHK DO within 2 days of receipt to ensure timely processing.

NOTE: Perform an Inquiry before mailing new applications to the NHHK DO to ensure that the individual is not open for another program.

Transferring Client Cases

As of October 15, 2002

·   NHHK will not be transferring out any open HKG-only cases that switched from HKS to HKG during the redetermination process to the 6 District Offices involved in the transfer; and

·   The 6 District Offices involved in the transfer will stop sending records for HKS-only cases to NHHK. These cases will be boxed according to the instructions in the section above entitled "Preparing Paper Case Files."

As of November 4, 2002

·   NHHK will no longer send pending HKG-only applications to the 6 District Offices involved in the transfer.

·   Statewide HKS-only cases will be electronically and physically transferred to Robin Magee, Acting Administrative Supervisor, NH Healthy Kids Corp, 25 Hall Street, Suite 300, Concord NH 03301-3477.

NOTE: As of November 4, 2002, do not transfer statewide HKS cases or HKG/MCPW cases from the 6 DOs involved in the transfer, to Kim Dionne at the Concord DO.

As of the Date of the Physical Move

·   Open Gold cases for the 6 District Offices shall be electronically and physically transferred to Robin Magee, Acting Administrative Supervisor, NH Healthy Kids Corporation, 25 Hall Street, Suite 300, Concord NH 03301-3477.

·   New HKG-only or MCPW-only applications received at the 6 District Offices, whether complete or incomplete, must be forwarded to NHHK DO via interoffice mail within 2 days of receipt.

·   Clients who are currently open at the NHHK DO and who subsequently request additional DFA cash or medical assistance from one of the 6 DOs involved in the centralization, must be transferred from the NHHK DO to the local DO to ensure timely delivery of benefits.

NEW HEIGHTS PROCEDURES

The New HEIGHTS screen name assigned to the NHHK DO is "Central Healthy Kids." Any New HEIGHTS’ reports that are sorted according to DO will now include the NHHK DO.

On October 8, 2002, New HEIGHTS ran a preliminary test to identify:

·   the HKG-only, MCPW-only, and HKG/HKS combination cases that would be transferred to the new DO the evening of November 1, 2002; and

·   the HKG, HKG/HKS, or MCPW cases that would need to be reassigned internally because the cases are also open for other DFA cash or medical assistance programs.

On October 11, 2002, the report identifying the HKG-only, MCPW-only, or HKG/HKS combination cases that are to be electronically transferred to the NHHK DO effective November 4, 2002, was distributed via email to each of the 6 DOs involved in the centralization process.

On October 7, 2002, the report identifying the HKG and MCPW cases that would need to be internally reassigned before November 4, 2002 was also distributed. New HEIGHTS reran the original test on Monday October 21, 2002 to confirm that all the identified cases needing an internal reassignment had indeed been reassigned. As there were still cases that needed to be internally reassigned, this report will again be rerun the evening of October 30, 2002. If cases continue to display on the report, the supervisors of the identified offices will be notified so that immediate action can be taken. All cases must be reassigned prior to the close of business on Friday November 1, 2002.

FORMS REVISIONS

Although no forms needed to be revised to incorporate the creation of the NHHK DO, return envelopes for HKG and MCPW redeterminations with the new NHHK DO address were needed. Envelopes were sent to print in September with an anticipated arrival time to correspond with the December 2002 redetermination mailing, which is mailed out in early November.

IMPLEMENTATION

The new NH Healthy Kids District Office will be established effective November 4, 2002. Other procedural implementation dates are effective as stated in the SR.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

A client mailing notifying the approximately 7,000 individuals affected by the centralization of Healthy Kids, will occur in early November. The client letter is attached for reference.

TRAINING

A transition meeting for Family Service Specialists assigned to the new Healthy Kids District Office was scheduled for Thursday October 24, 2002. The transition was further addressed at the October Administrative Supervisors and Managers of Administration meetings on Tuesday October 29, 2002.

In addition, a presumptive eligibility training with the Healthy Kids Community-based partner agencies and providers involved in referring clients to NH Healthy Kids, is scheduled for November 6, 2002, at which time the centralization at the NHHK DO will be discussed.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the SR has been posted to the On-line manual.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for Division of Family Assistance policy releases. This SR will be available for agency staff in the On-Line Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/DFA/LIBRARY/Manual/A1.htm, effective December 1, 2002.

This SR will be distributed under separate cover to all hard copy holders of the SR manual.

DFA/JBV:s