The New York State Department of Health has sent out a letter saying, “As you know, many of the residents of the affected area have been relocated to other states and New York is proud to help our fellow Americans in time of need.” Physicians may be asked to provide services to evacuees, many of whom either have qualified, or should qualify, for Medicaid. Here are two situations that may come up:

* First situation: An evacuee comes to you stating that he or she is already on Medicaid in Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama: You need to enroll as a provider in that state’s Medicaid program. Instructions for emergency provider enrollment are on the websites of those state Medicaid programs. The websites are:

Alabama: www.medicaid.state.al.us

Louisiana: www.dhh.state.la.us/offices/?ID=92

Mississippi: www.medicaid.state.ms.us/

If the evacuee does not have his/her Medicaid card, you can call these phone numbers to verify eligibility:

Alabama: 1-334-215-0111, option 3

Louisiana: 1-800-473-2783, option 0

Mississippi: 1-866-597-2675, ext. 0

* Second situation: The evacuee is not already eligible for Medicaid in his or her own state, but now seeks Medicaid from New York:

Local social service departments will accept applications for New York State Medicaid. To streamline the process, they will authorize coverage initially for four months even if the evacuee has limited (or no) access to money and/or personal documents. In New York City, to apply for Medicaid, the patient should call the Human Resources Administration at 718-557-1399.

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