Akilah Winters
11AliveATLANTA — Two members of Congress from Georgia are demanding more answers from the governor after federal data — released back in December — showed thousands of children in the state were dropped from Medicaid.
“This is a failure,” Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff told 11Alive in an interview on Thursday. “I would urge the state to do everything in its power to make this right."
In their letter, both Ossoff and McBath cited reports that the state was allegedly having software and staffing issues, which they said contributed to the loss of access to health care for many children and other Georgians "through no fault of their own." (Click here to read the full letter)
The “unwinding” process was initiated by the federal government to redetermine the eligibility of all Medicaid recipients after people had automatically remained enrolled, whether they were eligible, under COVID provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
In a December analysis by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, data showed Georgia ranked third in the total number of children dropped from the program since March 2023, falling behind only Texas and Florida.
Since March 2023, Georgia has dropped 149,080 children from the program, according to the analysis. The data also shows since March 2023, Georgia has seen a -9% decline in the total number of children being enrolled in the program. DHHS pointed to Georgia and nine other states who had higher rates of disenrollment, citing those states' decisions to not expand Medicaid coverage.
And last month, Georgia Department of Human Services Commissioner Candice Broce said 550,444 Medicaid recipients have had their enrollment terminated, with 543,967 people have been determined to still be eligible and had their enrollment renewed. Broce did not have a breakdown on the split in determinations between how many people were removed from Medicaid because they are no longer eligible and how many people may have been removed for clerical reasons.
The unwinding process for all 50 states is slated to run through May 2024. In Georgia, about 2.8 million people on Medicaid need to have their cases assessed.
In their letter, Ossoff and McBath called the disenrollment of the nearly 150,000 children "catastrophic" and claimed that it violated federal requirements that children and other eligible Georgians be auto-enrolled at an individual level.
"The State of Georgia has a responsibility to manage programs correctly to serve the people of Georgia and is currently failing to do so," the letter reads. "Your administration must take immediate corrective action."
However, a spokesperson for the governor’s office refuted claims from Ossoff and McBath that the state violated federal law and was mismanaging resources, calling them “disheartening."
"Contrary to their claim, Medicaid recipients are NOT waiting without health coverage until the redetermination process is complete," wrote Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for Kemp.
"Our state has taken considerable steps, including allocating $54 million in surge staff funding, to efficiently and effectively carry out the review process within the confines of federal guidance, and provide innovative alternatives through Georgia Pathways and Georgia Access for those who are no longer eligible for traditional Medicaid coverage," Douglas continued.
Douglas brushed off McBath and Ossoff's letter as “misinformation.”
In the statement, Douglas said the Georgia’s Department of Health Services and Department of Community Health have taken several steps, including informing those who were impacted to turn their paperwork in for redetermination — with a special emphasis on reaching children through school events and media outreach.
As for Ossoff’s and McBath’s demands, they are giving the state until April 11 to answer their specific question about coverage.
“We need real urgency from the state to get this right, because we’re talking about potentially life and death consequences for children in Georgia,” Ossoff urged.
Read the Governor's office full statement below:
“It is extremely disheartening that Senator Ossoff and Congresswoman McBath would offer nothing but misinformation and criticism of a process that they voted to initiate. Contrary to their claim, Medicaid recipients are NOT waiting without health coverage until the redetermination process is complete. Furthermore, according to data provided by DHHS, Georgia does not place in even the top 10 states with the highest percentage of child Medicaid coverage losses, but 80% of those states who did - fully expanded Medicaid. Our state has taken considerable steps, including allocating $54 million in surge staff funding, to efficiently and effectively carry out the review process within the confines of federal guidance, and provide innovative alternatives through Georgia Pathways and Georgia Access for those who are no longer eligible for traditional Medicaid coverage," said Garrison Douglas, Kemp Spokesperson.
The state has taken and continues to take steps to inform as many potentially impacted children and families as possible that they need to turn in their paperwork, including: direct outreach by multiple mail, email, and text attempts; TV and radio ads in English and Spanish, social media outreach, digital advertising; bus shelter signage; billboards; media outreach; informational videos; community events and partnerships; and resources in seven languages. There’s been a special emphasis on reaching children through back-to-school events and communication with principals and educators.
DHS and DCH are sharing information, action steps, and resources with members in the following ways:
- An ongoing digital advertising and social media outreach campaign that has reached 111 million impressions so far
- Forging community partnerships and hosting community briefings to share information with and hear concerns from local service organizations and community leaders
- A media outreach campaign that has resulted in more than 200 placements in outlets that reach millions of people per month
- Outdoor advertising, including high-visibility billboards and bus stop signage
- Direct mail sent to more than 130,000 difficult-to-reach Medicaid members across the state
- DHS participation in baby fairs, public school gatherings, and community events
- Outreach to health care providers and clinics around the state to provide key information and resources to share with patients