Another 10,000 Missouri children lost health insurance in July [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Aug. 11—JEFFERSON CITY — More than 21,600 low-income Missouri residents lost government-funded health insurance coverage in July, marking a second month of reductions in the number of people receiving benefits under the Medicaid program.

Following a trend that began in June, nearly one half of those losing coverage through the MO HealthNet program were children, according to data released Friday.

The reductions were expected after the federal government lifted a three-year, pandemic-related pause on determining whether people still qualified for the program.

States had been prohibited from ending Medicaid benefits since the COVID-19 public health emergency was declared in March 2020. In Missouri, there are more than 1.5 million participants in the program.

On Wednesday, before the newest dataset was released, Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, raised concerns about the number of children losing benefits after a similar number were cut off in June.

"I am concerned that there are kids being kicked off that are quite possibly still eligible," McCreery told members of a MO HealthNet oversight committee.

She said children shouldn't go without health coverage because their parents failed to submit adequate paperwork.

Kim Evans, director of the Family Support Division at the Department of Social Services, said officials are monitoring the removal of kids from the rolls.

"We looked for that particular scenario at the end of June," Evans told McCreery.

In June, Evans said the agency placed a "couple of thousand" cases on hold while they reviewed whether a minor could remain covered.

"I appreciate there is still a human part of this," McCreery responded.

Evans told the panel that it remains too early to tell how many people are expected to lose coverage during the monthslong redetermination period.

"I feel like we need another month of data," Evans said, pointing to September when the agency compiles August data.

The state progress also is being monitored by the federal government.

In an Aug. 9 letter from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told MO HealthNet Director Todd Richardson that long waiting times at the agency's call center are a concern.

The state in May reported call times of 48 minutes.

"Missouri should examine these call center issues and address potential areas of non-compliance as quickly as possible. CMS recommends that you review call center data and operations to assess what changes are needed to meet increased demand and ensure accessibility to your call center," the letter notes.

CMS said Missouri may want to boost call center capacity through hiring and training.

"Several states have also implemented call back options and provided callers their estimated call wait time or place in queue to reduce call abandonments. Adopting changes like these to your call center operations will help ensure beneficiaries have timely access to this critical service during the unwinding period," the letter said.

While as many as 4 million people could lose coverage nationally, the number of enrollees expected to lose coverage in Missouri has ranged from about 200,000 to as many as 373,000.

Of the 106,000 Missourians whose Medicaid renewals were due in July, more than 66,000 were automatically renewed through the use of address verification and other means.

The latest data shows that 16,632, or about 15%, of the participants lost coverage in July because of "procedural reasons" — meaning they didn't return their renewal form or submit necessary documentation by the renewal deadline at the end of the month. Of those, 7,600 were children.

Another 18,000 cases are "pending" — they still have coverage but require further analysis to determine if they are still eligible.

To assist in helping people keep their coverage, the department has created an online portal, where participants can check their renewal date and respond to any requests for information.

Participants also are sent letters in the mail before their renewal date, informing them that their coverage is either renewed, modified or that more information is needed.

If individuals who are eligible return the needed information within 90 days of losing coverage, their Medicaid will be reinstated and cover any lapse.

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