Many families rely on Medicaid to ensure that their children are receiving the health care services they need.

For Cynthia Charleston’s 14-year-old son, Lafayette, who is autistic, having Medicaid coverage has enabled him to have access to therapy services where a worker visits his West Philadelphia-based home as well as one-to-one wraparound services at his school. After filing her son’s renewal paperwork online during the summer, Charleston thought his coverage would be renewed. She didn’t realize the paperwork hadn’t been processed until she received a letter in October informing her that his coverage was slated to end.

She visited the Department of Public Welfare county assistance office a few days before his Medicaid coverage was scheduled for termination on Nov. 2. Charleston was told that the office was focused on collecting FEMA applications due to Hurricane Irene and would not be processing Medicaid paperwork. Charleston was asked to submit a new application, which ended up being placed in a box. She’s still waiting to learn whether Lafayette’s benefits will be reinstated.

“Their process is ridiculous. They throw it in a box, and they’ll get to it when they get to it, but you don’t have any idea when,” she said.

“It’s just hard. You really have to fight as a parent and go through all kinds of channels to get services,” Charleston added.

Charleston turned to the Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) for assistance. The agency has received more than 200 calls from parents whose families have been similarly impacted.

Charleston’s is one of thousands of Philadelphia-based families whose children have lost their Medicaid benefits.

According to PCCY, more than 6,000 kids were dropped from the Medicaid rolls in Philadelphia during the period from August to October. Statewide, almost 18,000 children lost their Medicaid benefits.

“Most of these people would probably continue to be eligible. There are people for whom insurance is an absolutely critical lifesaving element — kids who are really sick, kids who are in the middle of acute episodes, and kids who need services to continue in school. The ripple effect is enormous,” said Deborah Zubow, who operates PCCY’s insurance helpline.

“There are a lot of providers at this point who are continuing to provide services to very ill kids and they’re doing it on faith.”

Zubow noted that area DPW county assistance offices have a heavy caseload, which can lead to delays in paperwork being processed.

“Things have been becoming more and more difficult for the county assistance offices to keep up with the work that’s required of them,” she Zubow.

Due to the sagging economy, Zubow says the offices are being impacted by increased demand for services at a time when there are fewer administrative workers.

DPW spokesperson Carey Miller says there is an appeal process for families who lost their Medicaid benefits.

“Anyone who feels that they should not have been kicked off of Medicaid can appeal. They have 30 days to appeal. They just need to bring their proper paperwork back in to their caseworker and work out whatever they need to get back on the rolls if they feel they have been taken off improperly,” she said.

The Philadelphia Tribune – December 6, 2011 – Читать статью онлайн