Latest news with #KCHIP
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Kentucky families must renew Medicaid for first time since pandemic. Here's what to know
Starting in July, thousands of families across Kentucky must again renew their Medicaid enrollment— a process one local health provider warns could leave some without necessary insurance coverage. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentucky halted annual Medicaid renewals, allowing participants to automatically be reenrolled. In 2023, the state ended that policy, requiring Medicaid recipients to go back to submitting enrollment paperwork every year — except for those in the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program (KCHIP). KCHIP is a free health insurance program for families with an income at or under 218% of the federal poverty level — or up to $70,000 per year for a family of four. Children under 19, pregnant mothers and mothers within one year of postpartum are eligible to receive KCHIP coverage. When recertification resumed in 2023, the state introduced several flexibilities to ensure vulnerable populations could remain covered, including extending automatic renewal for KCHIP participants. The goal was 'simplify the renewal process, reduce inappropriate terminations and allow the state to manage the increased workload,' according to a document from the Kentucky Department of Medicaid Services. Now, that flexibility is ending, meaning thousands of Kentucky families will start receiving notices to update and recertify their Medicaid eligibility. Here's what to know. Families will get a letter when it's time to recertify and should watch for notices by mail, phone and email. There are also several ways to check Medicaid eligibility and recertify if needed. Visit Call 855.4kynect (855.459.6328) to speak with a caseworker. Visit your local Department for Community Based Services office. Contact a state kynector for assistance through Once enrolled, coverage lasts for 12 months. Even if changes make families ineligible for the program, children retain coverage for the year. Families can miss notifications to reenroll for a lot of reasons, said Bart Irwin, CEO of Family Health Centers, a nonprofit primary care provider with locations across Louisville. Maybe they've changed addresses, incorrectly filled out paperwork or missed deadlines — but that doesn't mean they are not financially eligible for Medicaid or KCHIP. "There's a connection that if parents or caregivers lose Medicaid, it's highly likely a child will lose Medicaid too," Irwin said. "I don't quite understand the connection, but one [reason] I would think is that if the parents miss the opportunity or don't respond correctly to the state's inquiry on their own behalf, it's likely they're not going to on their child's behalf, too." If someone does not respond to a renewal by the deadline, they will be unenrolled from coverage. KCHIP participants and families can call 855-459-6328 as soon as they learn they are unenrolled for lack of response. If they are determined eligible within 90 days of termination, coverage may be rolled back to the day of termination. Irwin said recertification for the KCHIP program could artificially deflate Medicaid rolls, similar to when the state stopped automatic enrollment for adults on Medicaid in 2023. Between April, when recertification restarted, and December 2023, Jefferson County saw more than 28,500 drop off the program's rolls, according to data from the Cabinet of Health and Family Services. Children make up a substantial portion of Medicaid recipients in Jefferson County, with over 108,000 kids receiving coverage. A third of Family Health Centers' Medicaid patients are children under 19. "It would be the same process as going through our kynectors and helping them redo certification, we know they're eligible, right?" Irwin said. "It's going to be the bureaucratic process that's going to harm the kids. It's missing the letter, or not putting the right information in, or forgetting some information, that's what's going to knock kids off." Reach reporter Keely Doll at kdoll@ This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky families must again renew Medicaid. Here's how to recertify
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
I'm a pediatric heart doctor. Medicaid cuts put half of Kentucky kids at risk.
As a pediatric cardiologist, my specialty is treating children's hearts, but as a pediatrician, I also recognize that surrounding each heart is a child. My job is to take care of both. Part of my job includes having hard conversations with expecting families about their child's abnormal heart, often trying to describe the complex heart diagnosis with a poorly drawn sketch on a sheet of printer paper. Through teary eyes and tissues in a claustrophobic exam room, I watch as plans for baby showers and nursery décor are quickly replaced by talk of heart surgery and hospital stays. When this diagnosis pulls the rug out from under these families, I hope to offer a soft landing place, a team of specialized pediatric providers to take care of these children as they undergo heart surgery — sometimes, in the first week of life. The reality, too, is that as families worry about their child's health, many are also often worried about the cost of care. This is a fear no family should face when it comes to getting the care their child needs. Gerth: Shouldn't police only violently assault people who commit crimes? | Opinion Many of these children will need access to specialized providers throughout their life to help them grow and thrive. Luckily, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — here in Kentucky, called KCHIP — serve as the backbone for caring for children with special health care needs, and approximately half of children I care for with heart disease rely on these programs for specialized care. Yet, right now these programs are at risk for sweeping cuts as Congress negotiates the budget. Any proposed funding cuts to Medicaid and CHIP would place these children at risk, and so many more in our state and across the country. I wish that these conversations I had with families were a rarity. However, heart disease that children are born with is the most common birth defect, occurring in almost 1% of births. Approximately a quarter of children born with abnormal hearts will need heart surgery or other interventions to survive. In Kentucky, Medicaid and KCHIP cover nearly half of children overall and more than half of children with special health care needs. These are the children whose hearts are represented by my drawings. I yearn for these children's smiling pictures as they live and grow with battle wounds of surgical scars, but I know that these heart warriors need our help. As someone who sees the importance of Medicaid and CHIP first-hand, I urge our Kentucky lawmakers to reject cuts to these vital programs. Because of these programs, my patients and so many more Kentucky children grow up healthy in our communities. Medicaid and CHIP are lifelines for children and families in our state, including the children who belong to these special hearts. We must protect these programs so patients like mine can thrive. Congress must do what's right and protect Medicaid and CHIP. Opinion Ark Encounter offers top canine training to police. Bible studies are optional. Allison K. Black, MD, FAAP is a pediatric cardiologist in Louisville. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Medicaid cuts could leave half of KY children without care | Opinion
