Focus at Four: HealthPoint talks about Medicaid after new report releases

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – A new report from the Texas Tribune indicated that almost 900,000 Texas have lost Medicaid since April and a backlog of applications has piled up overwhelming the system.

Healthpoint, CEO Terri Sabella joined First News at Four to break down the issue and the potential problems. Sabella said health insurance is more than just a visit to the doctor, it also allows an individual to access hospitals as well as labs and diagnostics. Medicaid is one of the resources that HealthPoint is able to connect patients with.

According to the Tribune, many of those who lost Medicaid benefits lost them due to procedural errors which include sending in applications in the mail a day late to not including correct documentation. Sabella said it’s possible that someone who lost coverage might not even know it.

“It’s something that we’ve seen evidence of with our Medicaid eligibility workers,” Sabella said. “For a lot of folks, they’re waiting to receive the correspondence in the mail and they may not know they haven’t updated their address or contact information with Medicaid.”

For those who believe they are covered under Medicaid, it’s important for them to check their Medicaid portal or check with HealthPoint.

“We have a team of folks that help folks through the process, we are state-certified to help with this process so we can expedite that handling and make sure it’s handled correctly,” Sabella said. “If you do need to refile, reenroll you can do that with us.”

Sabella said over 1/3 of HealthPoint’s patients are enrolled in Medicaid, a number that was even larger during the public health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Women who accessed Medicaid during their pregnancy were not dropped from the enrollment after a couple of months as what happens now again today, so we saw those women with continuous coverage,” Sabella said.

Previously pregnant women are the ones who are most likely to have dropped, along with children, Sabella said.

“In some cases, individuals may have been covered as kids before the public health emergency ended, but now they’ve come into adulthood and they may not realize their coverage is dropping, and the correspondence might be going to their parents,” Sabella said.

HealthPoint will see patients regardless of their ability to pay, Sabella said.

“We’ll have you visit with eligibility workers and if you don’t have insurance we might have to help you find a grant or other coverage. If we don’t have a grant or other coverage we can put you on our sliding fee scale, so you have access to primary care,” Sabella said.