Outreach and education to Medicaid consumers over the phone has been a mainstay of AHS’ consumer relations efforts since 1986 and is utilized in the vast majority of our current contracts. Using advanced telephone systems and techniques, our telephone workers handle outreach, education, application assistance, and enrollment for a variety of health programs (enrollment broker, PCCM, EPSDT, SCHIP, and Medicaid consumer hotline efforts), comprehensive health assessments, care coordination, linkages with medical homes, complaints resolution, and even appointment scheduling and referral to needed services (such as disease management, transportation, dental care, child care, etc.).

Blending telecommunications and an intensive initial and ongoing training effort in effective phone usage, outreach, education and enrollment, a variety of health programs are conducted through our Helplines (so called because they function as virtual I&Rs, routing callers to needed transmedical services beyond our contract obligations).

The most extensive information/referral hotline we administer is the Ohio Medicaid Consumer Hotline, which provides education and information on over 40 Medicaid-related programs. It is the main connection between Ohio's Medicaid and SCHIP consumers and the panoply of services offered and provided by the state and other agencies. AHS currently operates additional statewide Helplines for our Projects in, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, New York, Florida, and Louisiana.