(KMAland) — New Georgetown University Report showed that changes in federal policy reduced the number of uninsured children in Missouri during the pandemic.
Missouri had an estimated 95,000 uninsured children in 2019, but pandemic-related increases in federal Medicaid coverage could reduce that number to 86,000 by 2021. Did.
The report acknowledged improved expansion of Medicaid benefits, which increased federal funding to states and required states to continue to enroll Medicaid beneficiaries during the federal health emergency.
Dr. Maya Moody, president of the Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said Missouri is one of many states in the past that have seen eligible children lose their insurance for procedural reasons. She said that pre-COVID, when a child had their first birthday, families mohealthnetthe state Medicaid agency, had to prove financial eligibility every three months to maintain benefits, which often resulted in the loss of coverage.
“We see a significant decrease in healthy child visits over that year, 15 months, 18 months,” Moody observed. They don’t realize that their insurance isn’t activated, that there’s a problem with their system, or that their documents aren’t processed.”
The ongoing coverage provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act are due to expire in April.
Moody noted that early check-up visits are important, and interruptions in care often result in more costly if the problem is not caught early.
“Early intervention tends to be more effective and cheaper, right?” stressed Moody. “We certainly want our children to be happy and healthy, but we are doing our part to keep our money under control and to keep health care costs down. I want to make sure I do it.”
In the years before the COVID health emergency, the number of uninsured children in America was on the rise, and Missouri was no exception. Between early 2018 and summer 2019, approximately 95,000 children in Missouri no longer accessible to Medicaid coverage.
Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, said patients should stay up to date with state agencies to avoid administrative barriers.
“It’s very important for families to make sure their contact information is up-to-date with their Medicaid agency,” Alker stressed. Please be on the lookout to open it to
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