From AJC.com: The AJC first reported last week that the state terminated the Medicaid accounts of 17,000 poor elderly or disabled Georgians. The DCH says all those people didn’t respond to renewal notices. Lawyers say the computer accounts of their clients show they never received renewal notices.
Whatever you do, act quickly.
Caring Hands United clients should contact their care coordinators immediately so that we can assist you in recovering your benefits.
State offices
If you believe you have been cut off from Medicaid in error, the state Department of Community Health says you have 10 days to appeal the decision. After that, the DCH says you can apply within 90 days for renewal at the local office that serves your county — that will be a Department of Family and Children Services office, not a DCH office.
The main customer service number for Medicaid is 1-877-423-4746. County offices have their own phone numbers, listed at https://dfcs.georgia.gov/locations.
Outside lawyers say it can matter a lot, though, whether a person reapplies or instead appeals for renewal. An application can take much longer and requires the person to gather all his or her documents again.
Outside legal help
To get help with that, even the DCH and DFCS tell people in notices that if they believe they are wronged, they can call specific legal offices. The offices don’t take every case. But they do take cases where it looks like the state has done something wrong and the lawyers can help fix it and make a difference.
One group of lawyers helps people in parts of metro Atlanta, and the other group helps people in the rest of the state.
Atlanta Legal Aid
Atlanta Legal Aid helps people in these counties:
- Cobb County: 770-528-2565
- DeKalb County: 404-377-0701
- Fulton County: 404-524-5811
- Gwinnett County: 678-407-6469
- South Fulton and Clayton counties: 404-669-0233
Georgia Legal Services Program
Georgia Legal Services helps people in all the other counties.
- Call 1-800-498-9469
The lawyers’ quick tips
To appeal termination:
1. Take a copy of the termination notice to your local DFCS office, along with the paper that talks about fair hearings and appeals.
2. Tell DFCS you want to file an appeal.
3. Fill out the appeal section on the notice or ask for a form to write a fair hearing request, and turn it in to the DFCS office.
4. You can ask to speak to a DFCS worker directly to file your appeal. If you leave any documents with them, make a note of the name of the person you gave the documents to, the time and the date. Keep that note for your records.
To view video on AJC.com, click here.
