Numerous children may have lost Medicaid coverage due to errors made by certain states, federal officials warn. Technical glitches in eligibility verification systems have led to erroneous disenrollments despite children’s higher eligibility limits. The pandemic-era policy allowing coverage without regular checks ended in April, resulting in over a million children losing coverage. Federal authorities ordered states to rectify the errors, highlighting the disproportionate impact on children. Texas and Kansas experienced significant losses, emphasizing the need for accurate eligibility checks to ensure vulnerable populations, especially children, receive essential healthcare coverage.
In a recent revelation, federal officials have uncovered critical errors in Medicaid eligibility verification systems employed by certain states, potentially leading to a significant number of eligible children losing their healthcare coverage. The issue arises as state agencies unwind pandemic-era policies, resulting in more than a million children losing Medicaid coverage since the lapse of a rule in April. This rule previously allowed individuals to maintain their health insurance without regular eligibility checks.
A senior official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Daniel Tsai, highlighted the problem as a specific systems glitch that disproportionately impacts eligible children and their families. The glitch stems from automatic checks, known as “ex parte” renewals, where some states have erroneously disenrolled individuals, including eligible children, if renewal forms were not returned, despite eligibility through the automatic process.
This revelation prompted federal authorities to take decisive action. In a confrontational move, state Medicaid agencies were instructed to review their eligibility systems within two weeks and rectify any identified errors. The glitch led to the removal of coverage for over 5.5 million people since the unwinding process began, according to data analyzed by KFF, a health policy research organization.
The impact has been particularly severe for children, as they have more generous eligibility limits for Medicaid and CHIP enrollment. The termination of the requirement to maintain coverage has resulted in catastrophic consequences for low-income families and children. An estimated 1.1 million children lost Medicaid coverage since the policy ended, with limited data available due to some states not yet publishing breakdowns of coverage losses by age.
Joan Alker, the executive director of the Georgetown Center, emphasized that children, who are not expensive to cover, often suffer from treatable conditions like ear infections and asthma. Gaps in coverage can be life-threatening, emphasizing the urgency of resolving this issue promptly.
Texas, a state that has not expanded its Medicaid program, experienced the highest Medicaid coverage losses, affecting over 600,000 people. In Kansas, over half of the Medicaid beneficiaries losing coverage are children, highlighting the significant impact on low-income families in rural areas.
As federal authorities push for swift action to rectify this technical glitch, the focus remains on reinstating the coverage of affected individuals, especially vulnerable children, who deserve access to essential healthcare services.
