Senior Fellow Anne Dunkelberg of Every Texan was quoted in The Dallas Morning News offering Every Texan’s perspective on Medicaid unwinding, as the state seeks out residents at risk of losing their medical coverage.
Read an excerpt below:
“Advocates for the poor fear the state’s vetting system is so wobbly, many of the millions of people they need to find will drop off the Medicaid rolls – largely because there won’t be a robust effort to track them down without additional staffing.
The division that determines if people qualify for government health coverage, food stamps and cash welfare hemorrhaged workers during the pandemic, and still struggles despite some progress rebuilding the ranks.
Last month, the commission processed only 42% of Medicaid applications in a timely manner, compared with 73% in December. The state has 45 days to process applications from able-bodied people; for people with disabilities, it’s 90 days. Most of the new applicants are newly pregnant women and children.
“We are very concerned that HHSC will have a very, very difficult time processing the nearly 1 million renewals sent out in April, despite their notable efforts,” said Anne Dunkelberg, senior fellow at Every Texan, a research and advocacy group that supports expanded health insurance coverage.”
Click here to read the full article on The Dallas Morning News.