New Guide – How to Get a Medical Card and a Primary Care Provider (PCP) for Your Baby

 

To: Enrolled Medical Assistance Providers
Date: May 4, 2016
Re: New Guide – How to Get a Medical Card and a Primary Care Provider (PCP) for Your Baby

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The Department has issued a new guide that explains how to get a medical card and a Primary Care Provider (PCP) for newborns.  The information on the guide is relevant to all newborns whether their mothers are covered by managed care organizations or in fee-for-service.
The Department recommends that the guide be given to women receiving prenatal care.  Based on prenatal care guidelines from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the appropriate times to educate women on the selection of a primary care provider (PCP) and medical home for their newborns are during the first prenatal care visit and again during the third trimester.   
The guide, HFS Form 4691 (N-02-16); How to Get a Medical Card and a Primary Care Provider (PCP) for Your Baby, is available on the department’s Medical Programs Forms Page as well as on the For Pregnant Women & Infants page.
The guide provides links and contacts along with clear instructions on how to add a baby to a Medical case to get a medical card, and once the baby is added, how to choose a health plan or a PCP for the baby.  It is very important to assure that newborns have health care coverage as soon as possible.  We hope you will share this guide with your patients and encourage them to take the necessary steps to get a medical card and PCP for their babies immediately after delivery, ideally before they are discharged from the hospital. 
   
Felicia F. Norwood
Director