Over half a million Texans have been kicked off of Medicaid in the last four months, and most of them were improperly rejected, according to whistleblowers at the Texas Department of Health and Human Services (THHS).
Now, Democratic lawmakers are demanding that the federal government conduct an investigation.
The Texas congressional Democratic delegation – Reps. Lloyd Doggett, Greg Casar, Joaquin Castro, Colin Allred, and others – sent a letter in late August asking the federal agency in charge of Medicaid, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to “ensure State compliance with federal rules,” explaining that those kicked off the coverage amounted to 81% of those who had attempted to navigate the reevaluation process for Medicaid.
These included thousands of cancer patients, elderly citizens, and pregnant women, according to a letter sent from three whistleblowers to the commissioner of the THHS.
“As a result of the initial process we ran in April, we were informed that approximately 80,000 individuals lost coverage erroneously, including several thousand pregnant women who required critical services during their pregnancies or essential post-pregnancy care coverage,” the letter reads. “Additionally, we received subsequent emails from agency leadership indicating that several thousand elderly individuals were slated to lose medical coverage. … The concerning part was that many of these individuals did not receive any notice of denial, leaving them unaware of their coverage termination.”
Doggett pointed out in a Thursday post on the X social media site that this blow comes on top of the state’s delayed implementation of 12 months postpartum Medicaid coverage for moms.
“The Abbott approach only worsens the maternal mortality crisis,” Doggett wrote.
This article appears in The 33rd Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival.