Texas\u2019 backlog of Medicaid applications grew from about 1,600 in January to more than 210,000 in August.<\/p>\n
During the same period, the backlog for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a>, or SNAP, grew from about 3,700 to more than 150,000, according to data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission<\/a>, or HHSC, released by Texans Care for Children \u2013 a statewide research and advocacy organization. The group worries the backlog could continue to grow.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very concerned that Texans are stuck waiting longer for healthcare and food,\u201d said Diana Forester, director of health policy at Texans Care for Children. \u201cWe want to make sure pregnant women can start prenatal care quickly. We want to make sure that kids can see the doctor when they\u2019re sick or need a checkup. We want to make sure people can eat.\u201d<\/p>\n Federal changes to SNAP create problems<\/p>\n Forester\u2019s group points to recent changes to SNAP as one of the key drivers of the increasing backlog.<\/p>\n Last year<\/a>, federal policymakers approved significant<\/a> changes to SNAP as part of the massive federal tax and spending bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n Texas will already see millions of dollars in additional administrative costs later this year when states will have to take on more of the administrative costs of running SNAP \u2013 going from an even share with the federal government to covering 75%.<\/p>\n In addition, Texas could be responsible<\/a> for covering more than $700 million in benefits costs if it doesn\u2019t improve the accuracy of its program. In order to avoid paying for part of the program, Texas would need an accuracy rate of 94%, but in fiscal year 2025, the state\u2019s rate was 91%.<\/p>\n In an email to KERA, HHSC said it continues to focus on helping eligible Texans receive food and healthcare benefits as quickly as possible. The agency issued a similar statement to KERA in May<\/a> after Forester\u2019s organization released data showing more than 40,000 pregnant people in Texas were waiting at least a month for their application to be processed.<\/p>\n HHSC said the new SNAP mandates \u201crequire a thorough review of each case\u201d to ensure program accuracy. Texas has an integrated application, meaning people only need to fill out one application to apply for both Medicaid and SNAP. But Forester said that means any change to SNAP or Medicaid can cause issues for both programs \u2013 especially because they share the same pool of eligibility workers.<\/p>\n Another policy introduced in the federal tax and spending bill was new SNAP work reporting requirements, which HHSC is working on implementing.<\/p>\n Forester said that means technology changes and additional training for the 6,000 eligibility workers across the state. The system depends on people to manually enter data and information, which Forester said creates more opportunities for errors and additional responsibilities \u2013 like disaster relief SNAP \u2013 to make the process more complicated.<\/p>\n \u201cThese extra demands are landing on a system that was already under strain,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just have a very old eligibility system. It\u2019s very manual heavy, so anytime there are big changes, it just has a cascading effect on timeliness.\u201d<\/p>\n Texans encountering longer waits<\/p>\n As of Aug. 21, the median number of days it takes the state to process a Medicaid application has increased from almost 50 to about 70 \u2013 adding almost a month to how long Texans are waiting.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve submitted the 30-page application,\u201d Forester said. \u201cThey\u2019ve done everything right, and it\u2019s just sitting there on a computer for 70 days before a worker can get around to even start processing it.\u201d<\/p>\n HHSC shared the new application timeliness data during recent monthly stakeholder meetings. The data shows the state went from processing more than 90% of Medicaid applications within 45 days \u2013 the federal standard processing time \u2013 to 62% by late August.<\/p>\n For Texas families, Forester said the longer wait isn\u2019t just an administrative delay.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s 70 days of waiting to know if your kid has healthcare coverage and you can take [them] to the doctor,\u201d she said, \u201cor whether you can start prenatal care and check on your baby and make sure it\u2019s okay, or if you can afford the medications that you need.\u201d<\/p>\n The wait for SNAP grew from about 20 days in January to more than 30 days in August \u2013 with a 20% drop in applications processed within the federal standard processing time, which is about a month.<\/p>\n \u201cThe families that we have talked to, all of them say SNAP is crucial to their budget,\u201d Forester said. \u201cIt does not pay for all of their food, but it pays for a substantial amount of their food\u2026. It\u2019s crucial for kids to get the right kind of nutrients when they\u2019re growing so that they don\u2019t have more health problems later.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates call for state action<\/p>\n Late last year, HHSC recognized the need<\/a> to update the state\u2019s eligibility system for public benefit programs in its self-evaluation<\/a> for the Sunset Advisory Commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, Forester said even if the legislature makes a substantial investment to improve the technology, it will take several years to implement significant changes. Forester said one of the biggest problems with the current eligibility system is that it\u2019s hard for someone to know what\u2019s happening with their case, which amplifies the issues that already exist within the process.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are getting more and more frustrated and so they\u2019re calling more often to try and get updates,\u201d she said. \u201cAll of that takes resources and time for staff that they could be processing applications.\u201d<\/p>\n In the past, Forester said the \u201cpop-up\u201d events hosted by HHSC would allow people to take their paperwork and wait in a line to see an eligibility worker.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody that I have talked to that has been to one of those was so relieved to just have that process, to understand what was happening, to be able to talk to a person and to know that they had done everything they could to get through that process,\u201d she said. \u201cIt helps alleviate the burden of the unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n Abigail Ruhman is KERA\u2019s health reporter. Got a tip? Email Abigail at\u00a0aruhman@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Forester said the state needs to find a way to be accurate without creating significant delays.<\/p>\n
She said Texas families need relief quickly, which might mean the state needs to better work with community organizations, or it needs to host in-person enrollment events like it has in the past.<\/p>\n