More than 500,000 Texans have lost Medicaid coverage since COVID-era continuous enrollment for the federal health insurance program ended in March, according to Texas Health and Human Services Commission data.
A large majority of those who lost their Medicaid coverage — nearly 405,000 — were kicked off the Medicaid rolls for procedural reasons, like failing to respond to renewal packet requests. Nearly 96,000 were disenrolled because they were no longer eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP.
Public health experts have long anticipated that the end of continuous enrollment, instituted early in the pandemic, would lead to Texans losing their health insurance. Researchers estimate that as many as 1.3 million Texans would lose their Medicaid insurance as eligibility for the program is recalibrated.
