Porter once again calls for pause on Medicaid disenrollment

State Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis) is again calling on the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) to pause Medicaid disenrollments to prevent Hoosiers from abruptly losing health care coverage.

“Just this week, the state of Nevada reinstated 114,000 of their Medicaid recipients who had erroneously lost coverage due a flawed procedural disenrollment process,” Porter said. “If Indiana followed Nevada's lead, we could reinstate many of the 208,400 Hoosiers who have lost their Medicaid coverage.

“It's worth noting that roughly 37% of Hoosiers who have lost their coverage due to the redetermination process are children. Indiana was one of the first states to begin the redetermination process, which undoubtedly led to thousands of Hoosiers losing vital health care coverage due to a processing error. This month alone, Indiana had one of the highest rates of procedural disenrollment in the nation at 85%.  A lack of access to health care not only poses the risk of high out-of-pocket costs for emergency situations but lowers an individual's chance of receiving preventative health care that will benefit them in the long run.

“Until we can find a solution that values paperwork over vulnerable Hoosiers, I'm calling on the FSSA to pause these disenrollments and allow individuals to maintain their health care access. As a member of the Medicaid Oversight Committee, I look forward to focusing on getting this pause implemented as soon as possible to prevent further harm to our state's most vulnerable populations.”