AUSTIN, Texas — The Donald Trump administration declared the coronavirus a Public Health Emergency (PHE) when the pandemic first started. Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which increased Medicaid funding, among other things.
This increase in Medicaid means states didn't have to remove anyone from Medicaid rolls for the duration of the Public Health Emergency. However, when the pandemic emergency is lifted, over 1 million Texans could lose their government health coverage.
Jana Eubank, executive director of the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC), said the current public health emergency was supposed to end in mid-July, but it could be extended to October.
Researchers estimate that 1.3 million Texans enrolled in Medicaid at the end of 2021 will be ineligible this year when the continuous provisions end.
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One advocate said Texas is one of a handful of states hoping to dismantle the PHE requirements in six months. The federal government recommends waiting a full year.
If not done correctly, thousands of Texans can lose access to care.
"We're anticipating, unfortunately, that a lot of people aren't going to make it through that process who are eligible," said Eubank. "We're talking about, you know, if you look at who's eligible for Medicaid, we're talking about low-income children, pregnant women, new moms, and low income elderly, and disabled population. So we're talking about the most vulnerable Texans in the state."
Once the PHE ends, the work will begin to sort through the 3.7 million Texas recipients whose eligibility needs to be reviewed.
"One of our concerns is that people are never going to know ... they're in jeopardy of losing their coverage and what they need to do," added Eubank.
Eubank reminds Medicaid recipients they will be contacted by mail and asked to renew their coverage by submitting and completing an application. If they don't do this, they could lose their coverage.
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