Of the 2,593 people who applied for help from the state’s Catastrophic Health Care Program so far in fiscal year 2016, the current year, 432 were found to be eligible for Medicaid, or 9 percent. In fiscal year 2015, of the 5,683 people who applied for help from the CAT fund, 767, or 14 percent, were found to be eligible for Medicaid. That’s the result of a 2010 law that set up a combined application, so CAT fund applicants are screened for Medicaid eligibility up-front.

“This has been a very helpful and successful program,” Roger Christensen, board chairman of the CAT board, told JFAC this morning. “The purpose of the CAT fund is to be the payer of last resort. … Those were applications that were not sent on to the county level.”