Report Thousands of Ohio Kids Risk Losing Medicaid CHIP Coverage / Public News Service

Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program have been a lifeline for struggling families during the pandemic – and a new report suggests more than six million children in the U.S. could needlessly lose that coverage.

A “continuous-enrollment” requirement will be lifted at the end of the public-health emergency, which could be as early as April.

The federal government then gives states 12 months to re-determine people’s eligibility. But Ohio’s new state budget calls for that work to be completed in 90 days.

Kelly Vyzral, senior health policy associate with the Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio, said the shorter timeframe could lead to families being erroneously dropped from coverage.

“There are workforce shortages that are affecting Ohio Medicaid just like they’re affecting every other business in Ohio, and they’ve got an enormous caseload to go through,” Vyzral. “And we want to make sure that every family and every child that is eligible for Medicaid is able to maintain that coverage.”

The findings from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families indicate a nearly 12% increase in Ohio children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP between February of 2020 and June 2021. That’s roughly 134,000 kids at risk of losing coverage.

More than half of all children in the U.S. are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. Executive Director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families Joan Alker says 37.3 million kids are currently protected by continuous coverage.

“This mass and unprecedented eligibility redetermination process holds great risk for children and their families,” said Alker. “And that risk will vary depending on where they live.”

Positive measures Ohio has made to cover families are noted in the report, including expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and merging the Medicaid and CHIP programs.

Vyzral said they’ve also eliminated other red tape.

“They offer 12-month continuous coverage for families and children,” Vyzral. “They have been improving their level of passive renewal, so that families don’t have to continue to submit information if Medicaid can verify that through existing data and records they have.”

She said she’s hopeful Ohio will take advantage of the 12-month allowable time frame for redeterminations.

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Washington state lawmakers passed a measure last year that made historic investments in child care. This year, providers want their representatives in Olympia to ensure the initiative is keeping up with the price of care.

The Fair Start for Kids Act greatly expands subsidy rates for child-care providers. But Pauli Owen, owner of Pauli’s Playschool in Bellingham, said the rates are based on a 2018 market survey. She said the rates need to be updated so providers can support their workers.

“When we have a field that, unfortunately, going to places like Starbucks or even fast food can pay more,” she said, “then our staff who are working with these little guys – it just creates this instability, and it makes it hard for children to be able to form those lasting relationships.”

Owen and her union, Service Employees International Union Local 925, have said they want the Legislature to fully fund Fair Start for Kids at the current market rate. State lawmakers are beginning to craft the budget as this year’s session enters its final stretch.

Mary Curry, who runs the Pathways Enrichment Academy in Tacoma and also is a member of SEIU Local 925, said child-care centers will have to shut down if they can’t get enough funding to keep staff.

“We stand as one of those businesses that keep the community thriving,” she said. “So, the importance of being able to sustain our business – by having a wage that would allow providers to stay open to support that community as well as their families – is important.”

Fair Start for Kids also aims to make child care more affordable for families in Washington state, where it already is among the least affordable in the country. The average annual cost for infant care is about $14,500, according to the Economic Policy Institute. For a 4-year-old, it’s about $11,000.

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A new report found Florida kids in the Children’s Health Insurance Program could be at most risk of losing health coverage when the official public-health emergency for COVID-19 expires.

Researchers at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families warned millions of children could lose coverage as soon as April, when states will have to recheck eligibility for everyone enrolled in Medicaid, including kids.

Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy, said the decisions to make CHIP a separate program from Medicaid, and to require families to contribute to the cost, increase the challenges to keeping kids enrolled.

“For all of these reasons, we estimate today that 6.7 million children are at extremely high risk of becoming uninsured during this process,” Alker reported. “As big as this number is, we actually believe this is a conservative estimate.”

The report said 2.9 million children could re-enroll in public health programs if they lose coverage, but about 3.8 million would have to find other insurance coverage or become uninsured. While kids in all states are at risk of losing coverage, the report lists Florida as one of the states at highest risk, along with Georgia and Texas.

Alison Yager, executive director of the Florida Health Justice Project, said she hopes Florida’s leaders will jump ahead of the looming problem to ease the transitions in Florida’s CHIP program, known as Florida KidCare.

“Even short gaps disrupt kids care,” Yager pointed out. “If kids have unmet health needs that’s going to impact their education, that’s going to impact their ability to go to work. It impacts kids and families in so many ways.”

While Medicaid beneficiaries age five and older are required to have their eligibility checked twice a year,
children enrolled in Florida KidCare are checked for eligibility only once a year. Yager is concerned that many families will be shocked when the relative stability that came with the public-health emergency ends.

Yager suggested the state should boost the call-center staff for the insurance programs to be more responsive.

Tricia Brooks, research professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy, said there are many things states can do to avoid coverage gaps, including moving kids into programs they are eligible for, rather than dropping them altogether.

“States should also enhance processes to follow up with enrollees via multiple communication modes, when action is required to avoid a loss of coverage,” Brooks urged.

About five million Floridians are enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program, most with managed-care plans.

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February is Children’s Dental Health Month, and some pediatric dentists say cavities appear to be on the rise in North Carolina kids.

If left untreated, tooth decay can lead to infection, difficulty chewing and even malnutrition. Dr. Kerry Dove, a pediatric dentist in Concord and a member of the North Carolina Dental Society, said parents should brush their kid’s gums along with teeth to prevent periodontal disease.

She pointed out teeth should be brushed regularly as soon as they appear in a baby’s mouth.

“Even a rice-sized grain of fluoride toothpaste on the bristles of the toothbrush, when those teeth come in,” said Dove, “to help keep the enamel nice and healthy and strong.”

She added it’s important to avoid giving kids sugary foods and juices, noting the longer a child’s teeth are exposed to sugar, the higher the risk of developing cavities.

Dove said she’s seen an uptick in the number of kids with cavities coming into her office this year.

“I mean, I think everyone is just in ‘survival mode’ right now,” said Dove. “I don’t know if kids are snacking more, or if dental health is getting neglected more, just because everyone is burnt out and tired.”

One-third of parents say the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to get dental care for their children, according to a 2021 poll by Mott…