160,000 individuals have been removed from state Medicaid rolls since April after federal pandemic protections ended and a third of them are children. Executive Director of the Louisiana Budget Project Jan Moller said they expected many would lose coverage because the state could once again review income eligibility.
“But we know that most people who are losing coverage aren’t losing it because they are ineligible but for procedural reasons. They just didn’t answer the letter in time. Maybe they moved, maybe they didn’t get the right piece of mail or thought it was junk mail,” said Moller.
Since 2020, anyone who was on Medicaid could not be dropped due to pandemic protections, and when that changed, Moller said almost a million people on Medicaid had to have their eligibility reviewed.
Moller said to the state’s credit they’ve done a very good job notifying those on Medicaid of the need to revisit their eligibility. He said a large number of individuals who’ve lost coverage will probably have their status restored…
“Once they show up at a hospital or a clinic needing care, many people who’ve been dropped may not even know that they’ve been dropped because a lot of people who have health insurance coverage, may not go to the doctor very regularly,” said Moller.
With annual income eligibility reviews back in place, Moller said several will churn off and on Medicaid coverage, especially those who do not seek regular medical care.
“But we’re worried that a lot of people are going to kind of slip through the cracks here. There’s been a lot of efforts to reach out but it’s still hard to reach people sometimes,” said Moller.
An average of three out of four Louisiana Medicaid patients have lost coverage due to procedural reasons, for example, incomplete paperwork or outdated contact information. If you need to renew your Medicaid coverage call (888) 342-6207.
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