Protect your Medicaid. Update your info.

“More than 1 million people are dropped from Medicaid as states start purging their rolls”

“Most got dropped for not filling out paperwork… Florida has dropped several hundred thousand people, by far the most among states. The drop rate also has been particularly high in other states. For people whose cases were decided in May, around half or more got dropped in Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.

Medicaid recipients in numerous states have described the eligibility redetermination process as frustrating.” – AP

Use this map to find Medicaid contact details for your state and make sure your records are up to date. While you’re at it, call your Republican Governor busily purging Medicare rolls and let them know how you feel about it.

Find your State Medicaid contact details

States removing people from Medicaid

More than 93 million people nationwide were enrolled in Medicaid — up nearly one-third from the pre-pandemic total in January 2020. The rolls swelled because federal law prohibited states from removing people from Medicaid during the health emergency in exchange for providing states with increased funding. Now that eligibility reviews have resumed, states have begun plowing through a backlog of cases to determine whether people’s income or life circumstances have changed. States have a year to complete the process. But tracking down responses from everyone has proved difficult, because some people have moved, changed contact information or disregarded mailings about the renewal process.

People showing up at a doctor’s office in the coming months may not know they’ve lost Medicaid.

Advocates fear that many households losing coverage may include children who are actually still eligible, because Medicaid covers children at higher income levels than their parents or guardians. A report last year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services forecast that children would be disproportionately impacted, with more than half of those dis-enrolled still actually eligible.” – AP

Biden administration urges states to slow down on dropping people from Medicaid

“I am deeply concerned with the number of people unnecessarily losing coverage, especially those who appear to have lost coverage for avoidable reasons that State Medicaid offices have the power to prevent or mitigate,” Health and Human Services Secretary Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote to governors. Nobody “should lose coverage simply because they changed addresses, didn’t receive a form, or didn’t have enough information about the renewal process.”

Instead of immediately dropping people who haven’t responded by a deadline, federal officials are encouraging state Medicaid agencies to delay procedural terminations for one month while conducting additional targeted outreach to Medicaid recipients. Among other things, they’re also encouraging states to allow providers of managed health care plans to help people submit Medicaid renewal forms.” – AP

Pay attention to your mail

“In most cases, you might be renewed and re-determined eligible for Medicaid automatically without any intervention. But if not, it’s important to make sure you look out for a renewal packet in the mail. You’ll have about a month to return that packet with the requested documents. If you don’t turn in the documents correctly, you’ll get another 10 days to do so. If you still don’t get it right or miss deadlines, you may be notified for termination from Medicaid.” – Columbus Dispatch

Republicans weaponize bureaucracy to deny benefits

“At the same time they clear a path for corporations to operate unencumbered by too many rules or taxes, Republicans bring government’s heavy hand down on the backs of people who have the temerity to seek assistance with food, shelter, health coverage or financial help after a lost job.

The states that were most aggressive about deploying red tape against the unfortunate are mostly those run by Republicans, where the GOP either took or expanded power… They added layers of bureaucratic requirements — forms to fill out, history to be reported, drug tests to be taken, information to be provided through janky online systems when many unemployed people don’t have computers, plus work requirements to be met for benefits such as Medicaid. All of these offered multiple opportunities to make mistakes or miss a deadline, which could get an applicant’s benefits denied.

To take just one vivid example: “It’s a sh– sandwich, and it was designed that way by Scott,” one adviser to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, describing how the state’s unemployment system was gutted by his predecessor, now-Sen. Rick Scott, both Republicans. “It wasn’t about saving money. It was about making it harder for people to get benefits or keep benefits so that the unemployment numbers were low to give the governor something to brag about.” – Washington Post

Make information widely available

Many families lack internet access. Other use their phones to get information. Some have and poor eye sight or language difficulties and prefer to get information by making a phone call. How can information on Medicaid resources in different states be made easily available from a laptop or phone. And make it easy to call official sites for information.

And help people hold those responsible for cutting their Medicaid benefits accountable. This app overlays information about Senators and Governors along with their hone numbers and online contact information.

Make information easy to share

This app can be freely shared with this link https://arcg.is/8m9bi or embedded in a website with this code:
< iframe width=”300″ height=”200″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen src=”https://arcg.is/8m9bi”></iframe>

TakeAway: Protect your Medicaid. Update your records. And hold politicians responsible for cutting benefits accountable.

Deepak
DemLabs

DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THE DATA FOUND IN THIS BLOG AND INFOGRAPHIC HAS BEEN PRODUCED AND PROCESSED FROM SOURCES BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CAN BE MADE REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, LEGALITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION. THIS DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ANY USES OF THE INFORMATION WHETHER ISOLATED OR AGGREGATE USES THEREOF.

More than 1 million people are dropped from Medicaid as states start a post-pandemic purge of rolls – AP
Biden administration urges states to slow down on dropping people from Medicaid – AP