State agencies nationwide have begun a year-long process of reevaluating the financial eligibility of everyone enrolled in Medicaid, the joint state and federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities.
This may sound like just another yawn-inducing exercise in government paper-shuffling, but the results will likely come as a shock to millions of adults and children whose access to health care could be severely curtailed. Some are being cut from Medicaid because they are no longer eligible, but early results show many are being dropped for procedural reasons, like failing to fill in forms.
A study released this week by health policy nonprofit KFF found a high degree of confusion about the situation on the part of Medicaid enrollees, with 65% saying they were unsure if they could be removed from the program if they are no longer eligible or do not complete renewal forms.
Medicaid recipients have had a three-year break from taking an active part in renewals;…
This article was written by John Rossheim and originally published on www.nerdwallet.com