Texas Representatives Greg Casar (D), Lloyd Doggett (D), Jasmine Crockett (D) and several others joined the entire Texas Democratic delegation in urging the Biden Administration to pause the Texas Medicaid redetermination process.
The letter is a follow-up to a whistleblower report from a Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) staff member who found several violations in the redetermination process, including the incorrect termination of 100,000 cases of Texas Medicaid coverage.
“Your recent enforcement letter and improved data transparency across states, along with a recent whistleblower letter from Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) staff, indicate serious procedural failures and federal rules violations by the State of Texas,” reads the statement.
“To ensure Texans are not erroneously denied medical care, we urge you to exercise your statutory enforcement authorities to require a corrective action plan and pause procedural terminations if Texas does not immediately comply with federal requirements.”
According to the letter, almost 600,000 Texans had their health coverage terminated over the past four months—81% of whom lost access to a family physician due to procedural reasons, not because they were found ineligible.
“These disruptions and coverage gaps risk patients’ health and financial stability. We urge CMS to investigate and publish related information concerning the causes of these errors, all corrective actions taken and still pending that are necessary to prevent such disastrous errors from reoccurring, and data concerning the timeline for reinstatement of coverage for all affected beneficiaries.”
Texas has the ability to restore terminated accounts by automatically checking eligibility and renewing coverage for beneficiaries enrolled in other public assistance programs such as SNAP. However, fewer than 1% of Texans have received the benefits of the ability.
That said, some other states have renewed over 60% of beneficiaries through the ex parte process.
“We urge you to conduct a thorough investigation of Texas’s poor record of ex parte renewals and release such data and corrective actions the State must take to improve the ex parte review process.”
The representatives claimed that the issue is preventable if the proper measures are taken to stop it from happening.
“This situation is preventable and time is of the essence given Texas’s aggressive redetermination timeline. It is imperative that CMS work with Texas to pause procedural terminations and take corrective action to ensure due process for our many economically disadvantaged and marginalized neighbors.”
“Much more work remains to expand coverage and ensure every Texan fulfills their human right to health care, but at a minimum, Texas must meet federal program requirements and mitigate unnecessary coverage losses under the State’s existing eligibility rules. We stand ready to work with you, the State of Texas, and any willing partner to achieve this goal and protect health care access.”
In other news, in the much-discussed Georgia case, the bond for former president Donald Trump (R) has been set at $200,000.
Trump was recently indicted for the fourth time for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
