Washington, D.C. — Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new data brief and informational bulletin to states to ensure eligible children maintain Medicaid and CHIP coverage as states continue to reassess their Medicaid rolls following the end of pandemic-era continuous eligibility requirements. The brief shows that nine states — Texas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Arkansas, South Dakota, Idaho, New Hampshire, and Montana — have overseen the largest enrollment declines among children. Secretary Becerra sent letters to these states urging officials to take swift action to ensure children stay insured.
Data suggests that the vast majority of people losing coverage are a result of procedural issues: nothing more than missing paperwork. In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
“Protecting quality, affordable health care remains front and center for the Biden administration. It is unacceptable for children and families to lose Medicaid coverage because states aren’t doing enough to ensure people retain the coverage they rely on. It’s no surprise that many of the states that are failing to keep people covered, like Georgia, Texas, and Florida, are the same ones that have rejected Medicaid expansion, leaving families with no place to turn for basic health care. These states need to use the resources provided by the Biden administration to ensure people who qualify for Medicaid are not being kicked off, period.”
Background:
Biden Administration Previously Reinstated Coverage For 500,000 People. In September, the administration announced that nearly 500,000 children and adults who were improperly disenrolled from Medicaid and CHIP would regain their coverage. This followed CMS action directing states to assess their automatic renewal systems in order to ensure that eligible people did not lose coverage, to reinstate coverage for those who had been wrongly terminated, and to permanently fix renewal systems.