Washington, DC — With nearly 150,000 Georgia children thrown off their health insurance by the State of Georgia, Congresswoman Lucy McBath (GA-07) and U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff today demanded answers from the State about this catastrophic failure to care for Georgia kids.
According to the Federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), approximately 149,080 Georgian children were disenrolled from health coverage from March 2023 to September 2023 through a State process that violated federal requirements.
Recent reporting from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) found that hundreds of thousands of Georgians disenrolled from Medicaid by the State, including these children, have been unable to reenroll due to the State’s mismanagement. The AJC reported that mismanagement, understaffing, and poor administrative execution are driving the failure to re-enroll Georgians in health coverage.
“Voicemails are always full. When they try to go to an office in person they often find the caseworkers are actually working remotely. They send paperwork and the state can’t find it. And some problems lie with the Gateway computer system, which gives contradictory or inaccurate information, depending on which type of device and screen a person is using,” the AJC reported.
“The State’s failure to auto-renew children at the individual level, as required by the federal government, and to competently execute the Medicaid redetermination process leaves Georgians who have lost coverage at risk. The State of Georgia has a responsibility to manage programs correctly to serve the people of Georgia and is currently failing to do so. Your administration must take immediate corrective action,” Rep. McBath and Sen. Ossoff wrote. “The safety and well-being of children must be one of our highest concerns. It is unacceptable that children and other vulnerable Georgians have lost access to comprehensive health care through no fault of their own.”
In August 2023, Georgia reported that the State had failed to follow Federal requirements by stripping “household members with different eligibility statuses” of Medicaid coverage, meaning instead of checking each child’s individual eligibility, as required by the Federal government, the State of Georgia took away health coverage from entire households.
Now, the State’s Department of Human Services is failing to efficiently process re-enrollment cases, leaving a huge number of Georgians without health coverage for an extended period and parents without options to get their children reenrolled.
Rep. McBath and Sen. Ossoff requested answers to the following questions:
- What steps is the State taking to ensure that the Department of Human Services can quickly and efficiently work through Medicaid redeterminations?
- How does the State plan to address problems with the Gateway computer system?
- How is the State addressing vital health care needs for children while Department of Human Services is redetermining their eligibility for Medicaid?
- The State has chosen to not to report the number of children disenrolled from Medicaid who still lack coverage. How many children are still left to redetermine?
- Given the AJC’s reporting about mismanagement, understaffing, and poor administrative execution, what is the State doing to reach Georgia families whose children lost their insurance and ensure they understand their eligibility status and next steps to get their children reenrolled?
Click here to read Rep. McBath and Sen. Ossoff’s letter.