More than 150,000 Mississippians have lost health care coverage in the year since the Medicaid “unwinding” process began.
Many are children, who make up about half of all Medicaid recipients in the state. In June 2023, the number of children covered reached a peak of 456,314. In May, enrollment fell by more than 110,000, to 344,517.
The state began the process of reviewing the eligibility of each Medicaid beneficiary in April 2023, as pandemic provisions requiring states not to cancel people’s health care coverage ended after three years.
Although this represents a significant decrease in the number of children covered, it is more than were covered before continuous enrollment began. In March 2020, 342,043 children were covered by Medicaid, 2,000 fewer than in May 2024.
“As state Medicaid programs are ordered to return to pre-pandemic enrollment rules, it is not surprising to see Medicaid enrollment in Mississippi return to pre-pandemic enrollment levels,” said spokesperson Matt Westerfield. of the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, in an email to Mississippi today.
Matt Westerfield
khaylah scott
He said 45,000 of the people discharged were children when the pandemic began, but have since stopped participating in the program, which covers people up to 19 years old.
Khaylah Scott, director of Mississippi’s health advocacy program, said that because children are generally healthy, the changes in coverage have surprised some families. The Mississippi Health Advocacy Program works to improve health policies and practices in the state for poor and underserved communities.
“When it’s time for a back-to-school visit, a vaccine or a physical, they may go to the doctor and that’s when they’ll find out they no longer have health care coverage,” he said.
Scott said the consequences of children not going to the pediatrician are many. “We know that when children don’t get the care they need, they sometimes miss out on services that support healthy development,” he said.
The state has seen an increase in enrollment in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a program that offers free or low-cost health insurance to children who are not eligible for Medicaid but have an annual income of less than $31,200. for a family of four. CHIP enrollment in Mississippi has grown from about 42,000 children at the start of the phaseout process a year ago to more than 50,000 in May.
This change (8,000 additional children covered) makes only a small dent in the 110,000 youth who lost Medicaid coverage last year.
When children are deemed ineligible for Medicaid coverage in Mississippi, they are automatically enrolled in CHIP when they meet eligibility requirements.
Adults are also affected
To date, approximately 74.5% of completed reviews for adults have resulted in a renewal.
Most were completed by recipients who completed a renewal form. The other 31% were ex parte renewals or automated decisions the agency made using existing information.
Of Mississippians who lost coverage during the cancellation process, 26.2% were deemed ineligible. The remaining 73.8% were dropped for procedural reasons or for reasons other than a determination of ineligibility. This may mean that they did not return, complete, or receive the required documentation.
The state does not report how many procedural casualties were children.
At the beginning of the rollout process, the procedural cancellation rate was close to 80% for enrollees who had lost coverage. In April, procedural reasons accounted for 72.4% of cancellations.
This is slightly higher than nation average 69% in the case of procedural cancellations of registration, according to KFF.
Scott said she is concerned about the state’s high rates of procedural disenrollments.
“We’re seeing them decrease over time, but they’re not where we’d like them to be,” he said. “…We don’t want kids to get caught up in the bureaucratic problems of this resolution process.”
Last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced waivers, or opportunities for greater flexibility in making determinations, for states in response to high rates of procedural disenrollment and to ensure that eligible individuals throughout the country maintained coverage.
Since then, Mississippi has adopted six waivers to increase ex parte renewal rates, assist enrollees with submitting renewal forms, and ensure the department has access to accurate contact information.
Westerfield said the waivers have had a “positive impact” on the disenrollment process.
He said the department has also instituted monthly text message blasts to families with information on when and how to return renewal forms and launched a self-service portal to make it easier to complete renewals online.
Nationally, most people disenrolled from Medicaid have been able to regain coverage, although they may have experienced a temporary lapse.
According a KFF survey47% report being able to re-enroll in Medicaid, 28% purchased other health care, and about 23% remain uninsured.
Mississippi, along with 39 other states, is expected to complete the liquidation process this month, CMS reported. The state has 2,000 cases left to review out of a total of 750,000 cases, according to Westerfield.
In-depth, quality journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most comprehensive reporting and insightful commentary around the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. Last week, our reporters published 33 articles on cdispatch.com. Consider subscribing to our website for just $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.