Almost 100,000 Georgians Lost Their Medicaid and CHIP

As it continues to assess who is qualified for coverage now that the federal government has terminated a pandemic public health emergency, the state of Georgia has removed additional 95,000 adults and children from its insurance rolls.

According to a news release from the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) on July 12, the deletions from Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) represent just under half of the approximately 217,000 persons whose coverage is up for renewal in June.

About 57,000 individuals are currently being reviewed for eligibility by the organization. While the review is ongoing, they will continue to be covered. The remaining 64,000 individuals were renewed.

State Medicaid denials were barred by federal law throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency, lasting from early 2020 through May. States were given additional federal funding to meet the costs. States have a year to examine whether individuals can continue receiving Medicaid benefits after the public health emergency ends.

More than one million people had been kicked out of the program countrywide by mid-June, many of them for failing to submit documentation.

Georgia started the evaluation procedure in April. It removed more than 1,500 people from Medicaid and CHIP in May. It plans to reevaluate eligibility for the two programs' roughly 2.7 million state residents by the end of May 2024.

As of June 30, DCH said 231,885 Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids renewals had been successfully processed.

Officials stated that beneficiaries will have 90 days following their termination dates to submit updated proof of eligibility if they need to provide new information for coverage determination. Medicaid coverage continues for individuals whose eligibility was rejected and who have started an appeal. Appealing a denial will be possible up to 30 days following termination.