The tug-of-war over Medicaid continues as Georgia is singled out as one of the leading states in booting kids off its Medicaid rolls, a report from Urban Institute says. The think tank's analysis showed Georgia, along with 11 other states, has seen child disenrollments exceed their initial estimates since the "unwinding" of pandemic-era Medicaid rules began.
At the heart of this trend are the federally mandated Medicaid redeterminations, which kicked in after COVID-19 public health emergency rules were lifted. States had been barred from removing individuals from Medicaid rolls during the pandemic, but now, all Medicaid recipients must reapply to prove their eligibility for ongoing coverage. And in Georgia, the stakes are high – nearly 70% of the state’s 3.7 million Medicaid enrollees are children.
Yet, Georgia officials are hitting back at the findings. Fiona Roberts, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Community Health, contended, "In Georgia, children have been disenrolled at a lower rate than adults and as of January 2024, children still account for 69% of the active Georgia Medicaid population, which has been consistent since the beginning of the unwinding," according to a WABE report. However, veracity checks are stymied; state data doesn't compare adult cuts to the number of kids losing PeachCare for Kids coverage.
State officials confirmed that during the renewal process, some 539,893 individuals have had their coverage cut for failing to cross the T's and dot the I's – procedural dropouts, they’re called. Reasons for cutting cords ranged from missing renewal deadlines to lacking necessary paperwork. "Per federal guidelines, individuals are disenrolled from Medicaid because they are no longer eligible due to having aged out of PeachCare for Kids (otherwise known as CHIP); having gained employer-sponsored health insurance; having increased income beyond allowable limits; or because information has not been submitted to verify eligibility, among other eligibility criteria," Roberts was quoted saying in the same WABE report.
Georgia's Department of Human Services spokesperson, Ellen Brown told WABE, that the state has remained committed to reaching Medicaid members, "especially children," to assist them through the redetermination process. Despite these efforts, confusion persists among Georgians, as highlighted by an enrollment assister at Georgians for a Healthy Future, Deanna Williams. She noted an evident lack of awareness or understanding among Medicaid recipients about their next steps in maintaining their coverage.
