Medicaid enrollment

Missouri has removed roughly 136,000 kids from its Medicaid rolls since June 2023. But the state's worst-in-nation processing delays make it difficult to re-enroll — causing many to miss doctor’s appointments and critical prescriptions.

Missouri officials told the federal government the reason for the delays is that several social services programs are competing for limited resources.

Missouri’s Medicaid enrollment has shrunk by around 200,000 people since last summer, as the state continues the process of undoing a COVID-era pause on eligibility checks.

After an over 40-hour filibuster on the Senate side on the tax, the House passed it in less than 10 minutes.

The median time it took Missouri’s social services department to process Medicaid applications for low-income Missourians in February was 77 days.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.