Abeg O! Ova 2 Million Pikin Don Lose Medicaid for Obodo America🚨👶
⬇️ Pidgin ⬇️ ⬇️ Black American Slang ⬇️ English
For Obodo America, wahala don dey as ova 2 million pikin wey no get plenty money don lose their health insurance wey Medicaid dey give since di Covid-19 pandemic start. Researchers from Georgetown Center for Children and Families and KFF, wey be health policy research organization, don bring out dis tori. 📉
E be like say na one of di biggest gbege wey happen for America safety net since dem start Medicaid for 1965. Many of these pikin suppose get federal help, but as e be, mistake from paper work and state officials na im make dem lose di insurance. ❌📝
Joan Alker, wey be the executive director for Georgetown center, talk say e no clear if these pikin don get another insurance since di Medicaid number start to drop. But e sure say at least one million pikin still no get insurance. 🤷♀️
Di situation dey get worse. For di next weeks, e fit be say up to three million pikin go lose their insurance. “Dis na something wey we never see before,” na wetin Ms. Alker talk. E fit make di number of pikin wey no get insurance go high pass as e don be for many years. 📈
Federal researchers been predict dis crisis, dem think say ova five million pikin go lose their health insurance through Medicaid or di federal Children’s Health Insurance Program as states dey try check if people still fit get di insurance. But di way e dey happen fast and plenty, e shock even those wey dey expect wahala. 😲
Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat from Oregon, talk say states get power to choose wetin dem wan do. Dem fit help pikin or just leave dem like dat.
For example, for Lady Lake, Florida, Christina Ragsdale pikin dem lose Medicaid two times because of mistake wey state do. Her 13-year-old pikin, Aaron, no fit get him A.D.H.D. medicine for school until one family member help pay di cost wey reach over $1,000 for one month. 💊💸
Di number of people wey dey under Medicaid cover increase well well during di pandemic. By 2022, dem think say more than half of pikin for America dey under Medicaid or CHIP, programs wey states and federal government dey pay for together.
More than 90 million Americans, like one-quarter of di country people, dey enjoy dis program. But since dem start to ‘unwind’ di program, about six million people don lose their Medicaid. 🔽
Plenty pikin wey no fit get Medicaid again suppose join CHIP, wey be for young Americans wey their family money no reach for Medicaid but too small for private plans. But e be like say CHIP no work as dem plan. For 21 states wey get separate CHIP programs, only about 87,355 pikin join after 1.5 million comot from Medicaid for those states. 👎
As sickness like cold and flu dey plenty for fall and winter, dis loss of insurance dey happen for bad time. Even small hospital bill fit too much for family wey no get insurance, and big bill fit finish savings. 🏥💰
Some governors wey be Republican defend di ‘unwinding,’ dem talk say Medicaid dey go back to how e suppose be after plenty people join during di pandemic.
But over 70 percent of Americans wey lose Medicaid since April, na because of procedure reasons, as KFF talk. Di Biden administration dey try make states follow federal guidelines and help people establish their eligibility. But, some experts talk say federal government, wey fit stop state unwinding process, no dey do enough for states like Texas, wey don remove ova 700,000 pikin from Medicaid. 🇺🇸
Some pikin wey lose government insurance fit get parents wey they earn small, or dem family don get cover through employer
. Others fit don move go other state, or dem don pass 18 years wey be di cut-off age.
Still, di number of low-income pikin wey no get insurance dey worry people, especially since plenty of di newly uninsured pikin no suppose lose their insurance.
“I dey always think about dis matter before I sleep,” na wetin Daniel Tsai, senior official for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, talk.
E talk say: “E no suppose be say pikin go dey without insurance, no healthcare, while families dey worry about how to pay for medicine or wetin to do if pikin need go emergency room.” 🤕🚑
Relief dey come for parents small. Law wey dem pass for December go make sure say states keep Medicaid and CHIP cover for one year for all pikin starting from January 2024. But pikin first need to show say dem fit for di current unwinding, as Ms. Alker talk.
One week or even one day without health insurance fit risky for young pikin. Medicaid and CHIP allow families to visit doctor, pay for inhalers or get special care for things like development needs.
Dr. Eliza Varadi, wey be pediatrician for Charleston, South Carolina, talk say without Medicaid, medicine for things like asthma and diabetes fit cost hundreds of dollars. Families dey cancel appointment for her office when dem realize say their pikin no get health cover again.
For Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Rhiannon Hall pikin, Kayden, wey be 17 years old, spend two months dis year without Medicaid. E make Ms. Hall dey fear about unexpected medical bills wey fit chop her savings.
Before Kayden get free CHIP plan, Ms. Hall, wey dey work for medical records for community health clinic, cancel Kayden urgent orthodontist appointment and normal dental cleaning. She almost no pick her daughter medicine for internal bleeding problem. “When e no dey, you go dey worry every day say something fit happen,” Ms. Hall talk about her daughter health insurance.
Kerstin Foor, wey dey work with Ms. Hall for clinic, get 2-year-old daughter wey no get health insurance for several weeks for July before she get free CHIP plan. Her daughter get ear infections and allergies, and medicine dey too costly when she no get insurance.
E make am feel like she no do her part well, “because your pikin no suppose miss health insurance,” Ms. Foor talk. “E make me feel like di worst person for world.”
NOW IN BLACK AMERICAN SLANG
🚨👶 Heads Up! 2 Million Kids Done Lost Medicaid in the States
Aight, so here’s the situation. In the States, there’s a big problem brewing – over 2 million kids from families not rolling in dough have dropped off the Medicaid map since COVID-19 hit. This scoop comes straight from the brains at the Georgetown Center for Children and Families and KFF, who know their health policy stuff. 📉
Looks like it’s one of the biggest hits to America’s safety net since Medicaid got rolling in 1965. A bunch of these kids should’ve had federal backup, but got tripped up by red tape, like missing papers or states messing up. ❌📝
Joan Alker, the boss lady at Georgetown, says it’s not clear if these youngins got themselves new coverage after Medicaid numbers started dipping. But the word is, at least a million of them might still be going without. 🤷♀️
Things are getting real. In the next little bit, it could be that up to three million kids might lose their coverage. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” Alker says. We’re talking about a spike in uninsured kids like we haven’t seen in decades. 📈
Federal peeps saw this coming, predicting over five million kids would eventually lose health coverage through Medicaid or CHIP as states rechecked who’s still eligible. But the number and speed at which kids are losing coverage? Even the experts didn’t see this coming. 😲
Senator Ron Wyden, repping Oregon, points out that states got choices. They can either step up for the kids or just leave them hanging.
Down in Lady Lake, Florida, Christina Ragsdale’s kids got hit with Medicaid losses twice, all ’cause of state enrollment slip-ups. Her teen, Aaron, couldn’t get his A.D.H.D. meds until a family member dropped over a grand to cover a month’s supply. 💊💸
During the pandemic, Medicaid enrollment shot up big time. By 2022, more than half of the kiddos in the U.S. were under Medicaid or CHIP, with the federal and state governments splitting the bill.
We’re talking about over 90 million Americans, a good quarter of the population, getting Medicaid or CHIP. But since the rollbacks started, Georgetown’s data shows nearly six million people have dipped out of Medicaid. 🔽
A lot of kids who got bumped from Medicaid were supposed to switch to CHIP. That’s for families making too much for Medicaid but not enough to swing private plans. But CHIP isn’t holding down the fort like they hoped. Alker’s team found that in 21 states with separate CHIP programs, they only scooped up about 87,355 kids after 1.5 million got cut from Medicaid. 👎
With colds and flu doing their thing in the fall and winter, losing insurance right now is risky business. Even the small medical bills can knock families with uninsured kids off their game, and the big ones can wipe out savings. 🏥💰
Some governors, leaning Republican, are saying Medicaid’s just going back to its roots after ballooning during the pandemic.
Turns out, over 70 percent of Americans who lost Medicaid since April got cut for paperwork reasons. The Biden crew’s been pushing states to stick to the federal playbook and help folks keep their Medicaid eligibility in check. But some are saying the feds could be putting more pressure on states like Texas, where over 700,000 kids got cut from Medicaid. 🇺🇸
Some kids who lost their government insurance might come from families earning a bit more, or maybe they got new coverage through their folks’ jobs. Some might’ve moved states, or aged out, hitting that 18-year mark.
But seeing all these low-income kids without insurance? That’s setting off alarms, especially since a lot of them probably shouldn’t have lost coverage in the first place.
“I think about this every night,” says Daniel Tsai from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It’s got him worried.
He says, “Kids shouldn’t be out there without health coverage, with families stressing over affording meds or emergency care.” 🤕🚑
Parents can look forward to some relief though. Come January 2024, a new law’s gonna make states keep Medicaid and CHIP for kids for a full year. But first, these kids gotta prove they’re still eligible under the current cutbacks, as Alker pointed out.
Even missing a day or a week of health insurance can be a tight spot for little ones. Medicaid and CHIP let families see their regular doctors, afford stuff like inhalers, or get special care for things like development.
Dr. Eliza Varadi, a pediatrician in Charleston, South Carolina, tells it like it is. Without Medicaid, meds for asthma and diabetes can hit the hundreds. Families have been canceling appointments after finding out their kids aren’t covered anymore.
In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Rhiannon Hall’s 17-year-old, Kayden, went a couple of months without Medicaid. Hall, who works at a community health clinic, was sweating over any surprise medical bills that could have drained her savings.
Before Kayden got on a free CHIP plan, Hall had to cancel some important appointments and almost didn’t get her daughter’s meds for a bleeding issue. “When it’s gone, you’re on edge every day, waiting for something to go down,” she says about losing that insurance.
Hall’s co-worker, Kerstin Foor, was in the same boat. Her 2-year-old was insurance-less for a few weeks in July before getting on CHIP. The kiddo’s ear infections and allergies meant meds were too pricey without coverage.
“It hits you hard, like you’re not doing enough ’cause your child should always have health insurance,” Foor shares. “It made me feel like I was failing big time.”
NOW IN ENGLISH
🚨👶 Urgent Alert! Over 2 Million Children Lose Medicaid in the US
In the United States, a serious issue has arisen as over 2 million low-income children have lost their health insurance coverage provided by Medicaid since the Covid-19 pandemic. This alarming news comes from new analyses by researchers at the Georgetown Center for Children and Families and KFF, a health policy research organization. 📉
It appears to be one of the most significant downturns in the American safety net since the inception of Medicaid in 1965. Many of these children were eligible for federal assistance but lost coverage due to bureaucratic errors such as missing paperwork or mistakes by state officials. ❌📝
Joan Alker, the executive director of the Georgetown center, mentioned that it’s unclear how many of these children have found alternative coverage since the decrease in Medicaid enrollments. However, it’s estimated that at least one million children are likely still uninsured. 🤷♀️
The situation is worsening. In the coming weeks, it’s expected that up to three million children might lose their coverage. “This is an unprecedented situation,” Alker stated. The decline in coverage “has the potential to significantly increase the uninsured rate for children, the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades,” she added. 📈
Federal researchers had predicted this crisis, estimating that more than five million children would eventually lose their health insurance through Medicaid or the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program as states reassessed eligibility. However, the extent and speed of these coverage losses among children have caught even the experts by surprise. 😲
Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, noted that states have the authority to make decisions. They can either support the children or neglect their needs.
In Lady Lake, Florida, Christina Ragsdale’s children lost Medicaid coverage twice due to what she described as state enrollment errors. Her 13-year-old son, Aaron, was unable to access his A.D.H.D. medication at school until a family member helped pay the cost, which was over $1,000 for a month’s supply. 💊💸
The number of individuals covered by Medicaid dramatically increased during the pandemic. By 2022, it’s estimated that more than half of the children in the United States were covered by Medicaid or CHIP, programs jointly financed by the states and the federal government.
Over 90 million Americans, more than a quarter of the national population, were enrolled in these programs. Medicaid enrollment has already declined by nearly six million people during this period of adjustment, according to the Georgetown center. 🔽
A significant number of children who no longer qualified for Medicaid were expected to transition to CHIP, designed to cover young Americans in families with incomes too high for Medicaid but too low for private insurance plans. However, CHIP has not served as the safety net it was hoped to be. Alker and her colleagues estimate that 21 states with separate CHIP programs have only enrolled about 87,355 children after 1.5 million were removed from Medicaid in those states. 👎
With respiratory illnesses commonly spreading in the fall and winter, these insurance losses occur at a particularly dangerous time. Even minor medical expenses can be overwhelming for families of uninsured children, while larger bills can deplete savings. 🏥💰
Some Republican governors have defended this scaling back of Medicaid, arguing that the programs are returning to their original purpose and scale after surges in enrollment earlier in the pandemic.
Over 70 percent of Americans who have lost Medicaid coverage since April did so due to procedural reasons, as reported by KFF. The Biden administration has been urging state officials to adhere to federal guidelines and assist Medicaid recipients in reestablishing their eligibility. Yet, some experts believe that the federal government, which has the power to intervene in state processes, hasn’t been assertive enough, especially in states like Texas, where over 700,000 children have been disenrolled from Medicaid. 🇺🇸
Some of the children who lost government-sponsored insurance may belong to families with slightly higher incomes, or their families might have obtained coverage through employer-provided plans. Others may have relocated to other states, or have aged out of eligibility, being over 18.
However, the increasing number of low-income children without insurance is concerning, particularly as many of the newly uninsured likely should not have lost their coverage, as experts and officials have noted in interviews.
“I think about this issue before I sleep at night,” said Daniel Tsai, a senior official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, expressing deep concern.
He emphasized: “We should not have children going uninsured and without healthcare, leaving families worried about how to afford medication or what to do if a child needs emergency care.” 🤕🚑
There is some forthcoming relief for concerned parents. A law passed in December will mandate that states maintain Medicaid and CHIP coverage for all children for one year starting in January 2024. However, children will first need to
prove their eligibility as part of the current scaling-back process, as noted by Alker.
Even a single week or day without health insurance can be critical for young children. Medicaid and CHIP enable families to access primary care, afford medications like inhalers, or receive specialized care for developmental needs.
Dr. Eliza Varadi, a pediatrician in Charleston, South Carolina, pointed out that without Medicaid, medications necessary for conditions like asthma and diabetes can cost hundreds of dollars. Families have been canceling appointments at her practice upon realizing their children have lost health coverage.
In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Rhiannon Hall’s 17-year-old daughter, Kayden, went two months this year without Medicaid, leaving Hall anxious about potential medical costs that could quickly drain her savings.
Before Kayden secured a free CHIP plan, Hall, who works in medical records at a community health clinic, had to cancel Kayden’s urgent orthodontist appointments and regular dental cleanings. She even considered stopping her daughter’s medication for an internal bleeding disorder. “When it’s gone, you worry every day about what could happen,” Hall said, reflecting on the absence of her daughter’s health insurance.
Kerstin Foor, Hall’s colleague at the clinic, experienced a similar ordeal. Her 2-year-old daughter was without health insurance for several weeks in July before securing a free CHIP plan. The child, suffering from ear infections and allergies, faced unaffordable medication costs while uninsured.
“It makes you feel like you’re failing in your responsibilities because your child should never be without health insurance,” Foor expressed. “It made me feel like the worst person in the world.”
