About 300K Georgia kids lose insurance after pandemic-era protections end

ATLANTA - A recent report from Georgetown University says the state of Georgia dropped about 300,000 children from its Medicaid and PeachCare programs in 2023.

This comes after pandemic-era protections that kept people insured were lifted.

"Georgia unfortunately did not do well in protecting its children. Georgia ranked third in the country for the number of children who lost Medicaid in 2023, and that was a pretty significant finding. We didn't have a lot of data for Georgia because they haven't been very transparent about what's been going on for the children in the unwinding," said Joan Alker, research professor at Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Police. Alker was the lead on the study.

The study tracked disenrollment data nationwide in 2023. During the pandemic, everyone who became insured on Medicaid stayed on, and did not have to fill out annual paperwork to prove their eligibility.

"States are checking renewals for children who are covered by Medicaid and that's half of the children in the United States," said Alker.

According to the Georgia Department of Human Service's website, the state began redetermining eligibility in April 2023. 

Alker says by the end of the year, data shows Georgia saw a decline of about 300,000 children in its programs.

FOX 5 spoke with Dr. Cecil Bennett, the medical director for Newnan Family Medicine Associates.

"What we're going to end up with are more kids unfortunately in the hospital in sickle cell crisis because they were not treated early to prevent those crises. We're going to have kids showing up to the emergency room with, you know, asthmatic exasperations that could be very severe because they didn't have access to their inhalers or maintenance medications," Dr. Bennett told FOX 5 on Tuesday.

"When children do not have access to healthcare, it affects the entire community. It affects them, and the fact that they're not being cared for and could have more complications. It affects their parents, and now their parents have to miss work, which means losing income, and it affects the work environment as well."

A statement from the Georgia Department of Community Health reads as follows:

"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. Notices of termination of coverage contain information on options to regain Medicaid coverage if they can provide information showing they are still eligible. Members who are late returning their paperwork have up to 90 days to submit their materials to re-start the redetermination process and potentially retain their coverage. Additionally, notices include information on how to find alternative forms of coverage, such as individual marketplace commercial plans.

"Knowing that children comprise a much larger percentage of the Medicaid population in Georgia in comparison to other states, concerted efforts have been made to ensure that children retain health care coverage. When discussing redeterminations and the timeliness of renewal processing, it is important to note that all individuals awaiting a redetermination of Medicaid eligibility maintain continuous coverage while the State gathers required information and processes the renewal. Providers of services continue to be paid for services rendered to eligible children.

"Georgia began the unwinding process in April 2023 with 69% of Medicaid enrollment being comprised of children, the second-highest percentage and fifth-largest population of children in the country. In contrast, national data from April 2023 shows children represented just 46% of overall Medicaid and CHIP enrollment nationwide for the 49 other states and Washington, D.C. that reported that data to CMS. 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.

"Additionally, Georgia has implemented 12 months of continuous eligibility and enrollment for children on Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids® (CHIP), which began January 1, 2024. This helps ensure access and continuity of coverage for children and aims to help reduce disruptions in coverage.

"Finally, Georgia has expanded Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) to include the programs of Refugee Cash Assistance, Childcare and Parent Services, and Women, Infants, and Children as of March 2024. The state was already previously utilizing ELE for the Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. The State also transitioned ELE from opt-in functionality to opt-out functionality within the Georgia Gateway integrated eligibility system in March 2024 to ensure that more children who are eligible for these programs will become enrolled in Medicaid."