Drop in CHIP and Medicaid children concerns public health advocates. - Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, TX)

Byline: Dan Genz

Jul. 10--Public health advocates have expressed concern after the state reported last month that 100,000 fewer kids enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program this year than in late 2005.

In McLennan County, the decrease was more pronounced for Medicaid, which lost nearly 1,000 children during the six months from December to May, compared to CHIP, which saw a dozen children leave the program during the same period.

Officials with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission are trying to determine what sparked the decline. Agency spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said she expects the decrease to be smaller when final numbers are released in about a month.

Goodman said one possible explanation is that Medicaid growth was expected to slow after skyrocketing between 1999 and 2003, when its numbers doubled.

But for the state that has the dubious distinction of leading the nation with the highest percentage of uninsured children, the 5.5 percent decrease in the county's Medicaid coverage has created some concern the problem may be growing.

'For Medicaid to decline at all is somewhat alarming,' said Anne Dunkelberg, assistant director of the Austin-based progressive Center for Public Policy Priorities.

Dunkelberg said changes in the enrollment process last year confused parents and led some families to inadvertently fall off the rolls.

Goodman said those problems are being ironed out, but other issues also may have played a role. Medicaid now requires participants show proof of income level to maintain services. This allowed the agency to determine some families now make too much money to qualify, Goodman said.

Considering Texas' population boom and the decreasing number of families covered by private-sector insurance, Dunkelberg said the number of children with public health insurance should be growing, not shrinking.

Waco-area doctors noticed a decrease in children in both programs at the start of this year but are hoping it won't last, said Family Health Center executive director Dr. Roland Goertz, who oversees a number of clinics for low-income patients.

'It's of concern to me because those kids are still there,' Goertz said. 'They're out there probably not getting the care and treatment that's going to prevent them from being ill.'

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Copyright (c) 2006, Waco Tribune-Herald, Texas

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