Tarrant County enrollments were up slightly this month, after a slight drop in March. All in all, Tarrant County fared better than the state as a whole, which has experienced a drop of 15,771 kids off Medicaid and CHIP (mostly Medicaid) during the last two months.
We’re still up for the year:
- 926 more Tarrant County kids were enrolled in CHIP and Medicaid in April compared with January.
- That’s a 13.3% increase compared to April 2010.
- Re-enrollments appear to be down, looking at the CHIP data.
The number of kids enrolled statewide in these programs has dropped the past two months. It’s hard to believe the economy has improved enough to warrant such change. I’m wondering what’s happening. Although the state reports on re-enrollments in CHIP, they don’t in Medicaid. Since families have to re-enroll every six months in Medicaid, I’m wondering if there’s a problem there. It’s really hard to believe there’s been a pick-up in employer-based coverage. The only other explanation is they’re now uninsured.
I have to wonder if all of this rhetoric about cuts in Medicaid and CHIP makes families think that it won’t be there for them so why bother to go through the hassle to enroll or re-enroll. Just wondering.
