Outreach and education to Medicaid consumers over the phone has been a mainstay of AHS consumer relations efforts since 1987 and is utilized in the vast majority of our current contracts. As recently as June, 2002, we successfully assumed the administration of the Ohio Medicaid Consumer Hotline Services Project from the previous incumbent. Making full use of the corporate skills acquired during our 15 years of call center management, we provide, in essence, one-call entry-point access to a host of Medicaid services (the State of Ohio offers 38 different Medicaid-related programs to its residents B ranging from prenatal to long-term institutional care).

The Medicaid Consumer Hotline, introduced to the public in 1996, has rapidly become recognized as the predominant information clearinghouse for callers regarding their Medicaid-related questions. Types of Hotline callers range from applicants to medical providers and professional advocates seeking information on behalf of their clients. As with all of AHS contracts, assistance is offered to callers in a variety of languages. In order to meet the needs of our consumers, the Project has secured several staff that are bi- or multi-lingual. Since the vast majority of non-English speaking callers speak Spanish, a separate call center queue was developed to manage those calls.

Monthly call volume at the Hotline has been climbing steadily since our assumption of this Project and reached a peak of over 54,000 calls for October, 2002. Due to the success of the Hotline, the State of Ohio has increasingly promoted the 1-800 number on mass mailings and program marketing materials. The result is an ever growing volume of in-coming calls. Callers seek information regarding benefits, the application process, access to providers, coordination of benefits and myriad other topics. They also can obtain assistance with billing-related problems and file formal complaints and/or request information on the State Hearing process.

In an effort to meet the needs of the working families who are enrolled in Medicaid-related programs, the call center offers expanded daily and weekend hours. AHS staff is available 360 days-a-year for consumers seeking information and/or referral services for their Medicaid-related queries. While customer service staff is able to answer questions for the vast majority of consumers during the initial call, others may be given a referral for additional assistance.

Operational reports (e.g., callers by county, type of calls, etc.) are generated, shared with the state agency, and analyzed internally for continuous quality improvement purposes. As the effectiveness of Hotline marketing initiatives has become of interest to the State, AHS implemented a screening process to determine the impact of marketing efforts among consumers. Those findings are reported weekly and monthly to the contract monitor so that trends can be identified and application flow predicted.

AHS has designed this Medicaid hotline model with fully web-based applications. Staff can access the Project database, on-line protocols manuals and provider directories, along with a variety of other reference materials through a secure website making the Project virtually paperless and extremely portable. Additionally, several customized program applications have been created to generate reports and data directly from the Project database, thereby facilitating Project activities such as the next day mailing of completed applications to callers for subsequent submission.

The Hotline operates from 7:00a.m. - 8:00p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8:00a.m - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Messages can be left after hours, and will be returned the next business day. The toll-free Ohio Medicaid Consumer Hotline number is 1-800-324-8680.

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