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The median time it took Missouri’s social services department to process Medicaid applications for low-income Missourians in February was 77 days.
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Interviews with advocates, applicants, participants and experts reveal that increased pressure on the social service agency’s capacity has intensified bureaucratic hurdles for low-income and low-resource Missourians trying to access government health insurance.
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A federal lawsuit filed before Medicaid unwinding began alleges that a dysfunctional system prevents low-income Missouri residents from getting food aid. Now, advocates say systemic flaws have escalated into a crisis for the most vulnerable.
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Missouri’s share of children being disenrolled from Medicaid is third-highest among the states that report age breakouts. Nearly 40,000 kids total lost coverage — mostly for paperwork reasons — and it's not yet clear how many were able to cycle back or move to another program.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government prevented states from kicking people off MO HealthNet, Missouri's Medicaid health insurance program. That provision ends April 1, and state residents will once more need to prove their eligibility for the low-cost coverage.
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Missouri on average took 41 days to process a Medicaid application in September for the eligibility group which includes low-income children, pregnant people, families and adults.
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State officials declared the backlog of Medicaid applications "no more" and expressed optimism they would meet a federal deadline set for the end of the month. The state's processing time had grown to 115 days, far longer than allowed under law.
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Roughly four in every five Medicaid applications in Missouri took longer than 45 days to process from February to April.
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Religious leaders in the statewide group Missouri Faith Voices are encouraging volunteers to spread the word about the state's Medicaid expansion. They say that the state has done little to publicize the program and that much of the responsibility for educating residents has fallen on them and community organizations.
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Medicaid applicants in Missouri are facing average wait times to get their applications processed of nearly four months: well over the 45 days required by the federal government.