Unwieldy TennCare System That Relied Heavily On Hard-Copy Forms Resulted In Thousands Of Kids Dropped From Insurance
The Tennessean looks at the dramatic negative effects the paperwork system -- which has now been replaced -- had on the state's children. Medicaid news comes out of Indiana, New York and Montana, as well.
The Tennessean:
At Least 220,000 Tennessee Kids Faced Loss Of Health Insurance Due To Lacking Paperwork
At least 220,000 Tennessee children were cut, or were slated to be cut, from state health insurance in recent years in an unwieldy TennCare system that was dependent on hard-copy forms and postal mail, according to a Tennessean investigation. The majority of these kids likely lost their coverage because of late, incomplete or unreturned eligibility forms. Most TennCare beneficiaries are automatically renewed for coverage each year, but some families were required to complete mailed forms to confirm if they are eligible for state insurance. The Tennessean analyzed a TennCare database of 319,000 children who went through this paperwork process from January 2016 through December 2018. The analysis indicates TennCare representatives, using this paperwork process, were rarely able to determine if kids were actually eligible or not. (Kelman and Reicher, 7/14)
The Associated Press:
Indiana Creates Medicaid Work Rules For Low-Income Hoosiers
Indiana has become the latest state to implement work requirements for low-income residents who receive their health insurance through Medicaid — a change that opponents warn will cost some under resourced Hoosiers their health coverage. The state's Gateway to Work program began July 1. The new program will require an estimated 72,000 people to report their work hours or other activity to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration in order to keep their coverage, WFYI-FM reported. (7/14)
NCPR News:
Watchdog Group Calls Out State Budget 'Gimmick' In Medicaid Payment Delay
The Empire Center’s Bill Hammond says Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget office quietly postponed a $1.7 billion Medicaid payment in late March by three business days and made the payment instead in early April. That’s significant because the state’s fiscal year ended March 31 and a new one began April 1. If the payment were made in March, the state would have been over a statutory cap that limits growth of Medicaid spending to 3% last year. “It’s definitely a gimmick,” said Hammond. “It’s only three days, but it moves this big number from the balance sheet from one fiscal year to the balance sheet of another fiscal year.” (DeWitt, 7/15)
KPAX:
Hearings On Medicaid-Expansion Changes Delayed Until End Of July
Next week’s hearings on key changes to Montana’s $750 million-a-year Medicaid expansion program have been delayed for two weeks, state health officials said. Health officials said they rescheduled the hearings at the request of the federal government, which wanted to give Montanans more time to examine the proposed changes in the program that provides health coverage to nearly 100,000 low-income Montanans. (7/14)
