Thread by @StaceyPogue

During the COVID #PublicHealthEmergency, Texans with Medicaid have kept their coverage & Texas has received an extra $6 billion in federal Medicaid funds. This has been good for Texas. When the #PHE ends (sometime after Oct 13), HHSC will face the huge task of renewing everyone🧵

A new @HHS_ASPE report shows nearly 3 of 4 kids who’ll lose Medicaid at the end of the COVID #PHE will STILL BE ELIGIBLE. They'll lose coverage due to administrative barriers in the renewal process. Great report summary from @GeorgetownCCF.

ccf.georgetown.edu/2022/08/22/mil…

People of color will disproportionately lose Medicaid coverage despite remaining eligible. Nationally, 64% of Latinos and 40% of Black non-Latinos who lose coverage will still qualify for Medicaid compared to only 17% of White non-Latinos.

For background on how administrative burdens for people with Medicaid both reflect and contribute to racial and health inequities, see this @CenterOnBudget & @CLASP_DC report.
cbpp.org/research/healt…

How do eligible kids end up losing coverage? HHSC issues a “procedural denial” when it is missing information or can’t access data needed to verify eligibility. This often stems from bureaucratic barriers in the enrollment system or renewal process.

For examples, see the great testimony from @AlecMendoza20 of @putkids1st to @TXlege this month. He identified bureaucratic barriers that trip up families when they try to get or keep their kids enrolled in Medicaid.

https://twitter.com/putkids1st/status/1555587373177634818

.@EveryTxn identified enrollment barriers in our testimony too. Outreach alone simply can’t address these barriers. But there are many steps Texas can take now to mitigate loss of coverage among kids who are STILL ELIGIBLE at the end of the #PHE.
everytexan.org/2022/08/05/act…

Texas Medicaid relies heavily on notices sent via snail mail. Something as simple as the state using an old address can cause an eligible child to lose coverage. Many families have moved since 2020, making bad addresses/returned mail a big PHE challenge.
khn.org/news/article/t…

HHSC is doing great outreach on updating addresses, but families hit barriers at the first step. 211 option 2 hold times can top an hour. YourTexasBenefits.com can be a dead end. Resetting passwords & getting YTB account access is harder than doing the same for your bank acct.

There are more efficient options. Texas can get updated address data from USPS or Managed Care Organizations. Some states have created a simple way to submit an address update, with no hold times or password problems. HHSC could also text clients about address updates & renewals.

Careful planning is needed to resume normal operations at the end of the PHE w/o disenrolling lots of eligible kids. It’s a big task, made more challenging by Texas’ short, self-imposed timeline & severe eligibility staff shortages. See recommendations at covertexasnow.org/posts/2022/4/1…