The Medical Assistance Program (MAP) Certification office on St. Thomas will temporarily close for services on Thursday, Dec. 6 through Tuesday, Dec. 11, to relocate to the Department of Human Services Division of Family Assistance at the Knud Hansen Complex Building A. Client services will resume at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 12.
In an effort to efficiently deliver benefits to the public, the transfer of MAP from the Department of Health to Human Services Division of Family Assistance was the most practical. Changes in Medicaid including the Affordable Care Act and the increase in matching funds from the Virgin Islands government enabled the expansion of MAP. The MAP conversion will provide an increase in client services by centralizing applications for benefits, so individuals who are employed will avoid considerable absence from work from having to visit many offices for assistance. The territory is following suit with a majority of the United States that have streamlined the application process for MAP services.
Approximately 30 staff from MAP are expected to transfer to Human Services before the end of the year. On St. Croix, MAP staff will move to
areas in the complex surrounding the Herbert Grigg Home for the Aged. The final transition phase involves implementation of a Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) and a Joint Eligibility Enrollment System to facilitate the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF), and Medicaid.
The federal government is financing 90 percent of the cost for these systems to serve a large number of clients. Its expected completion date is 2015.
