Medicaid shake-up: Why millions of children have lost their health insurance
Medicaid paperwork issues caused by the unwinding process have left families scrambling to get care for children with chronic conditions.
AURORA, Colo. — Isabella Quintana’s first birthday came with an unwelcome gift this summer: She abruptly lost her health insurance weeks later.
The little girl, who has a heart murmur and complications after a bad bout of bronchitis, had been covered by Medicaid, the government program insuring low-income and disabled Americans. But over the summer, she was dropped from the program due to what her parents believe is a paperwork issue.
“It’s hard for us because we are always thinking, ‘When she’s going to get sick?’ That’s something that we don’t have control over,” said her father, Gorman Quintana.
In the months since, one of Isabella’s bronchitis follow-up appointments cost about $1,100 — a big chunk of the roughly $35,000 the Colorado family makes per year. When she later spiked a 100.4-degree fever, her parents waited longer than they otherwise would have to take her to the emergency room, hoping it would go down on its own.
“It’s tough, because you want them to be healthy right away, you know? You don’t want to wait until something else happens, you know?” Quintana said.
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