Children getting wrongly dropped from Medicaid because of automation `glitch’

By DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The federal Medicaid agency says some children may have been wrongly dropped from the government health-care program as states undertake a massive eligibility review. Medicaid rolls swelled across the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic because states were prohibited from cutting off coverage. Annual eligibility reviews resumed this spring, and about 5 million people already have lost coverage. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is raising concerns that some states may be halting coverage for entire households based on parents’ income, even though children are allowed to receive Medicaid at higher income levels than adults. It’s asking states to review and update their procedures.