Over 1 million people have lost their Medicaid coverage in recent months, as some states have moved quickly to halt healthcare coverage following the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Most of those affected lost their coverage for not completing paperwork. Although the eligibility review is required by the federal government, President Joe Biden’s administration is unhappy with the efficiency of some states in completing the task. A top federal Medicaid official, Daniel Tsai, recently warned that rushing the process would lead to eligible individuals, including children and families, losing coverage for some time.
Reports indicate that over 1.5 million people have been removed from Medicaid in more than two dozen states that began the process in April or May, with Florida being the state that has dropped the most people. The rate of drop has been particularly high in several other states. For instance, for those whose cases were decided in May, around half or more were dropped in Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. Arkansas alone has dropped over 140,000 people from Medicaid.
The eligibility redetermination process has caused problems for many, including Jennifer Mojica, aged 28, who was informed in April that she no longer qualified for Medicaid because Arkansas had incorrectly determined that her income was above the limit. Although this issue was resolved, she was subsequently informed that her five-year-old son was being dropped from Medicaid because she had requested that he be cancelled, which she denied. Her son’s coverage was eventually restored, but she has now been informed that her husband no longer qualifies.
More than 93 million people nationwide were enrolled in Medicaid as of the most recent available data in February, which is up by almost one-third from the pre-pandemic total in January 2020. The Federal Government prohibited states from removing people from Medicaid during the health emergency in exchange for providing increased funding. Now that eligibility reviews have resumed, states are working through a backlog of cases to determine whether individuals’ income or circumstances have changed. States have a year to complete the process. However, some people have moved, changed their contact information, or disregarded mailings about the renewal process, making it difficult to track them down.
Advocates are concerned that many households losing coverage may include eligible children, because Medicaid covers children at higher income levels than their parents or guardians. A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services forecast that children would be disproportionately affected, with over half of those disenrolled still being eligible. However, this is difficult to confirm because the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services does not require states to report a demographic breakdown of those dropped. In fact, CMS has yet to release any state-by-state data.
Medicaid recipients in numerous states have described the eligibility redetermination process as frustrating, with some states unable to complete all the eligibility determinations each month. Pennsylvania has reported over 100,000 incomplete cases in both April and May, and tens of thousands of cases remained incomplete in April or May in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico, and Ohio. Advocates fear that once states fall behind in processing renewals, it will be difficult to catch up.
Gary Rush, aged 67, who said he was notified in April that he would lose Medicaid coverage, is one of those still hanging in the balance. The Pittsburgh resident has been told that his retirement accounts make him ineligible, although he does not draw from them. Rush appealed with the help of an advocacy group and was told at a recent hearing that he has until July to get rid of approximately $60,000 in savings. Samantha Richards, aged 35, who has been on Medicaid her entire life and currently works two part-time jobs as a custodian in Indiana, remains uneasy about her eligibility, despite receiving help from a local advocacy group to navigate the process.
In conclusion, the removal of over 1 million people from Medicaid in recent months has created difficulties for many individuals and households. Advocates fear that the loss of coverage may disproportionately affect children, while some states are struggling to complete all the eligibility determinations each month. The eligibility review process for Medicaid recipients has been described as frustrating, with some individuals still hanging in the balance.
Original Story at abcnews.go.com – 2023-06-20 01:39:50