TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — From seniors to our children, tens of thousands of Floridians just lost their health care coverage. For many of them, that should not have happened.
But, it did when Florida required that all Medicaid recipients be recertified. Procedural problems followed.
8 On Your Side Investigator Mahsa Saeidi is working to get results for some of those folks.
Shirley Herberger has been on Medicaid for years. Medicaid pays for her home health aide.
Suddenly, she lost her coverage and her aide. Shirley remains eligible for Medicaid.
But still, the Florida Department of Children and Families or DCF kicked the 87-year old off the program two weeks ago.
Pursuant to federal regulations, now that COVID is over, all Floridians must submit a renewal to prove their eligibility. And apparently, according to DCF, Shirley didn’t turn in all her paperwork.
“I haven’t had my lady here,” she said.
Without her home health aide, life’s been tough.
“She makes me something to eat, helps me get up and put my clothes,” said Shirley. “You know… it just makes the day start out better.”
Theresa Taylor is Shirley’s daughter.
“You completed the renewal, so you thought, in February” asked Investigator Mahsa Saeidi.
“It says I did,” said Theresa.
Theresa isn’t new to this. For years, she’s completed the renewal or Medicaid Redetermination process.
Theresa says DCF waited months to tell her she was missing paperwork.
“I was devastated because they gave us a day and a half notice. I had no idea. I was just, I had a breakdown,” she said.
Shirley isn’t the only one who’s lost coverage for a so-called “procedural reason.”
8 On Your Side found in just one month, nearly 250,000 Medicaid recipients were dropped in Florida.
According to this report from DCF, four out of five lost coverage for procedural reasons.
Theresa says, in her view, DCF hasn’t done enough to notify people about changes, post-COVID.
“I want people to know what’s happening,” she said. “I feel like Florida needs to get their act together.”
In a statement, DCF says they’ve properly notified recipients with an “aggressive text, email, and robocall campaign to get the word out.”
“When an individual is determined to no longer be eligible for Medicaid benefits, whether that determination is due to income limits or non-responsiveness to an inquiry from DCF, a notice is sent to the individual informing them of the decision,” a DCF representative said. “This notice is sent in the individual’s preferred language (e.g., English, Spanish, or Haitian Creole) and through the method they selected in their MyACCESS account. If an individual disagrees with the determination on their case, they have the option to ask for a review.”
“The government makes it so complicated, all the paperwork,” said Shirley.
So when is Shirley getting her lady back?
DCF says they’re actively working with her, and that their top priority is to ensure that those who are eligible remain enrolled.
If you’re having a similar problem, email Mahsa at MSaeidi@WFLA.com.