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Tuesday, December 24, 2024

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American Airlines is boarding flights again, and the FAA lifts its nationwide ground-stop; Santa Cruz Wharf collapses in storm, tossing three people into water; Toxic 'forever chemicals' taint rural CA wells. Has Ohio lost its battleground state status? Opponents of factory farms regroup after mixed election results.

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Biden commutes the sentences of most federal death row inmates, the House Ethics Committee says former Rep. Gaetz may have committed statutory rape, and the national archivist won't certify the ERA without congressional approval.

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Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Medicaid 'unwinding' leaves thousands of LA children without coverage

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Thursday, May 9, 2024   

More than 56,000 children in Louisiana have lost their health insurance through Medicaid last year, despite being eligible for coverage, according to a new report.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, states were not allowed to cancel coverage but last year, health departments in Louisiana and elsewhere were required to recheck the eligibility of Medicaid recipients.

Courtney Foster, senior policy advisor for Invest in Louisiana, said during what was called "the unwinding," agencies found it challenging to identify children who fell through the cracks in the system.

"Louisiana was 7% lower than it was at the beginning of the unwinding period," Foster reported. "We know that people have been losing their coverage and many children as well have lost coverage just for paperwork reasons when they still may be eligible."

The report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families showed Louisiana disenrolled 7% of the children from its Medicaid program. Foster noted during the pandemic, Congress decided people should be able to keep their coverage and not having health insurance should not prevent people from getting treatment.

Foster observed most families find out they no longer have coverage when they go to the doctor's office or the drug store.

Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and co-author of the report, said the problem not only affects children, but also the health care workers who treat them.

"Kids are going to miss out on those well-child visits," Alker stressed. "They're going to miss out on getting the medications they need, be it an inhaler for their asthma or an ADHD medication. And that really sets them back both in their health and their success in school."

Congress has approved a new policy, which orders after Jan. 1, 2024, states must provide 12 months of continuous eligibility for children in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program but it only applies to children who have renewed or re-enrolled with the Medicaid or CHIP program.

Disclosure: The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and GreenFaith contribute to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environmental Justice, and Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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