Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Georgia Enrolls Just 1,343 So Far For Medicaid Program With Work Requirement
AP: Georgia Medicaid Program With Work Requirement Has Enrolled Only 1,343 Residents In 3 Months
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s new health plan for low-income adults has enrolled only 1,343 people through the end of September about three months after launching, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The Georgia Department of Community Health has projected up to 100,000 people could eventually benefit from Georgia Pathways to Coverage. But the nation’s only Medicaid program that makes recipients meet a work requirement is off to a very slow start. (10/20)
On the 'unwinding' of Medicaid —
Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Unwinding Cut 9M From Program Since April
Six months in, the nationwide effort to cull ineligible beneficiaries from the Medicaid rolls has proven to be as messy and consequential as predicted. More than 9 million people have lost Medicaid coverage since states resumed eligibility checks in April after pausing them during the COVID-19 public health emergency. That's more than halfway toward the 15 million the Health and Human Services Department projected. And the vast majority of disenrollments are the result of procedural matters—states being unable to reach Medicaid beneficiaries, people returning incomplete forms and so on—not the result of states affirmatively identifying the people no longer qualify for coverage. (Berryman, 10/23)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Medicaid 'Unwinding' In Pennsylvania Is Hurting Children, Advocates Say
Pennsylvania was among a few dozen states to report a problem in the way they conducted eligibility checks, automatically disqualifying entire families if they found one person was no longer eligible. With children being more likely to qualify for Medicaid due to more generous eligibility thresholds, the error is expected to disproportionately hurt this group. The scope of the problem in Pennsylvania remains uncertain as DHS works to re-evaluate cases at an individual level. (Anderson, 10/23)
SpotlightPA: Bad Tech, Staffing Shortages Hinder Pa. As It Reassesses Health Care Coverage For 1000s
Pennsylvania is struggling with faulty technology, persistent staffing shortages, and flawed procedures as it reassesses health care coverage for hundreds of thousands of adults and children. All states were required to begin reevaluating who qualifies for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, in April as part of the “unwinding” of pandemic-era rules that allowed for continuous coverage. (Meyer, 10/23)
KRQE: Nearly 100,000 Unenrolled From Medicaid, Those Still Enrolled May Face Challenges
A new report reveals Medicaid issues facing thousands of New Mexicans. Nearly 100,000 locals have been unenrolled due to changing eligibility requirements and issues plague remaining customers, according to a report by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC). (Segarra, 10/20)
WLBT: Mississippi’s Medicaid Rolls Keep Shrinking
Oleta Fitzgerald and the Children’s Defense Fund have been trying to fill in some of the gaps but admit they don’t have the resources or reach of the government. “Most of the outreach that has gone on from the state levels has been through the internet,” she noted. “And a lot of people do not have access to the internet. So, we have to engage in different strategies to reach these families.” (Jackson, 10/19)
State House News Service: MassHealth Expecting 'Pretty Steep Uptick' In Disenrollments
About 76,000 people have been removed from the MassHealth rolls since March, and officials continue to forecast the biggest impacts are around the corner as a massive reevaluation of eligibility ramps up this fall. MassHealth published the latest monthly summary of its year-long redetermination effort Friday, showing that another 48,000 people lost MassHealth coverage in September. That was offset by about 18,000 new enrollees and 6,300 people who rejoined the publicly funded health insurance program after previously losing coverage. (10/22)
The Daily Iowan: UI College Of Dentistry Sees Influx In Medicaid Patients
As eligibility for dental benefits increases in the state, the University of Iowa College of Dentistry is seeing an influx of Medicaid patients from private dentist offices. Iowa has seen a 1.63 percent increase in Medicaid patients in the last year with 13,351 new members. The total number as of May 2023 was 833,203. UI College of Dentistry Dean Clark Stanford views the increase as a positive and said for Medicaid patients in particular, the university is the principal source for specialty care in the state. (Reddy, 10/22)
In other news, Michigan codifies provisions of the ACA —
AP: Affordable Care Act Provisions Codified Under Michigan Law By Gov. Whitmer As A Hedge Against Repeal
Federal law that prohibits insurers from denying healthcare based on preexisting conditions, or kicking dependents off their parent’s coverage until age 26, is now codified separately into Michigan law. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Thursday that attempts to duplicate the Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare,” into state law. The second-term governor said earlier this year that the proactive move was necessary to ensure Michigan residents “aren’t at risk of losing coverage,” due to future Supreme Court rulings. (Cappelletti, 10/20)
