FARGO – Essentia Health will join Sanford Health on June 1 in offering medical services to the estimated 20,500 North Dakotans who may qualify for the state’s Medicaid Expansion Network.
The agreement announced Thursday allows Essentia to provide in-network health services for nearly 18,000 North Dakota enrollees who are currently part of the expansion program.
Approved by North Dakota lawmakers and authorized by the Affordable Care Act, the expansion makes Medicaid health care coverage available to qualifying low-income individuals under age 65 who have incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which is an annual income of about $16,000 for a single person and $21,000 for a household of two.
The expansion opens the program to adults without dependent children and low-income parents who, in general, were not previously eligible.
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Lawmakers directed the North Dakota Department of Human Services to implement the expansion through private insurance carriers.
North Dakotans can apply online at apply.dhs.nd.gov , by phone at (855)794-7308 or by completing a paper application.
Sanford Health Plan was awarded the Medicaid Expansion contract in December 2013 and coverage for enrollees began Jan. 1, 2014.
