ST. LOUIS — More than 23,000 Missourians in June lost health insurance coverage through Medicaid because they could not be located or did not return necessary paperwork, according to since the three-year pause on verifying eligibility was lifted.
Nearly half of those — almost 11,000 — were children, the data shows.
States were barred from kicking anyone off Medicaid since the COVID-19 public health emergency was declared in March 2020. That pause on verifying eligibility was lifted April 1.
Missouri began its renewal process in June, starting with those whose annual renewals were due by the end of that month.
When the pandemic started, about 900,000 Missourians received Medicaid, which is government-funded and provides health coverage to low-income adults, children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with disabilities.
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That number grew to more than 1.6 million as verification was paused, and Missouri also expanded the Medicaid program to cover more adults in 2021. Expansion has added nearly 337,000 participants, data shows.
The Missouri Family Support Division is in charge of the verification process. The division was able to determine whether some participants are still eligible using enrollment databases for other federal assistance programs.
Of the nearly 117,000 Missourians whose Medicaid renewals were due in June, nearly 38,000 were automatically renewed this way.
The division has “taken aggressive steps to raise public awareness and implement technology solutions to enhance their ability to electronically determine eligibility†of Medicaid participants, said Caitlyn Whaley, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Social Services.
Staff also “continues to explore and implement additional technology to increase the number†of automatic renewals, Whaley said.
When the division needs to contact participants to get more information, that is where the challenges occur.
While the state was able to reach and approve more than 12,000 participants, data shows that 23,341 Missourians lost coverage in June because of “procedural reasons†— meaning they didn’t return their renewal form or submit necessary documentation by the renewal deadline at the end of the month. Of those, 10,747 were children.
Another more than 34,000 are “pending†— they still have coverage but require further analysis to determine if they are still eligible. Nearly 22,000 of those are children.
In addition to the 23,341 who lost coverage, nearly 9,200 participants were determined to be no longer eligible because of increased income or other change in their status, bringing the total number of Missourians dropped from coverage to more than 32,500.
Individuals determined as no longer eligible get referred to the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, which provides premium and cost-sharing subsidies for health coverage.
Early data from other states also shows that many people are losing coverage for procedural reasons, and many who are dropped have been children.
According to KFF Health News, which has been tracking the latest data across the U.S., nearly 3.8 million people have lost Medicaid coverage since the renewal process began, based on data released so far by 37 states and the District of Columbia.
About 73% lost coverage for procedural reasons, the data shows.
In a normal year, about 17 million Americans lose their Medicaid coverage, many of whom are eligible but get caught in red tape. , including nearly 7 million people who are actually eligible.
This is despite federal officials working closely with states on ways to keep people covered, such as using federal databases to automatically renew qualified participants, outreach efforts and troubleshooting any problems that arise.
“Our priority and commitment is to do everything within our power to help keep people covered for the coverage that they are eligible before,†said Daniel Tsai, director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service,
Tsai said in a July 20 press conference that the initial numbers are raising alarm.
“In particular, we’re very concerned that the majority of people that have lost coverage, have lost coverage for what we call procedural reasons, meaning the state has not been able to identify that someone is eligible (because) individuals have not responded, and that could be due to lack of awareness, wrong addresses, or people not getting a Medicaid renewal form in the mail,†he said.
Tsai has urged state and local officials and organizations to step up their education efforts after initial feedback shows many people are in the dark.
“All the survey information, focus groups, interviews, discussions with on-the-ground stakeholders that we’ve had indicate that most Medicaid enrollees are not aware that Medicaid eligibility checks have restarted,†he said.
Family Support Division Director Kim Evans has said staff prepared by checking U.S. Postal Service data for any address changes and working with managed care companies to gather email addresses and phone numbers.
They created a new customer online portal, where participants can create an account to check when their renewal date is and respond to any requests for information. They created radio and digital ads and sent targeted emails, Evans said.
They have also been working with health advocates and local organizations to get the word out about the renewal process, she added. Materials such as flyers and social media posts are available for any organization who wants to share them, and staff will help tailor the message to specific audiences.
Officials with Affinia Heathcare, which provides primary and dental care to Medicaid and uninsured patients in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area, say they have been working on informing clients since January about the renewal process.
Efforts include canvassing neighborhoods, hosting events at their clinics and participating in area health fairs, said LaDon Meriweather, the outreach director for Affinia.
“We will set up a table basically anywhere we are allowed to set up a table and partner with any organization that is willing to let us come in,†Meriweather said. Partners have included homeless shelters, libraries and schools.
Sunni Johnson, a health application coordinator, for Affinia, says staff members have called hundreds of patients directly, reminding them that a renewal form will be coming and to update their address with the state social services department.
Each month more than 100,000 Missourians will be up for Medicaid renewal. Nearly 37,000 renewal forms were mailed to those whose renewal deadline is the end of July, a department spokeswoman said.
Forms are sent about a month before their annual renewal date.
Information must be sent back by the deadline on the form. Individuals can also submit the information by using the new customer portal, calling 1-855-373-4636, uploading to or visiting a local resource center, which can be found at .
All participants will get a letter in the mail before their renewal date, informing them that their coverage is either renewed, modified or that more information is needed.
If individuals who are eligible return the needed information within 90 days of losing coverage, their Medicaid will be reinstated and cover any lapse.
Updated at 4:47 p.m.