Arizonans trying to reach Medicaid offices are waiting too long, feds say
Federal officials are concerned it’s too hard for Arizonans to get help renewing or enrolling in Medicaid coverage. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says Arizona is one of 16 states where phones aren’t being answered quickly enough.
When Arizonans contact the state’s Medicaid call center, they wait 21 minutes, on average, according to CMS. About one-in-five callers just hangs up.
In a letter this month to Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System, Arizona’s Medicaid program, CMS warns the long call wait times are "impeding equitable access to assistance and the ability for people to apply for or renew Medicaid and CHIP coverage by phone and may indicate potential non-compliance with federal requirements."
State Medicaid programs are currently facing huge backlogs of eligibility cases because they were not allowed to drop coverage during the pandemic, but that moratorium was lifted in April. AHCCCS reports its call volumes spiked after that.
AHCCCS says it is working to mitigate call times. It has recently launched an online chatbot and a text and email service to give members other options for assistance.
