CMS Issues Urgent Call to Action Following Drastic Decline in Care for Children in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
CMS released preliminary Medicaid and CHIP data highlighting that rates of vaccinations, well visits, and dental services among children enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP have dropped substantially, and issued an “urgent call to action.” The data set examines vaccinations, primary, and preventive services among children in Medicaid and CHIP for March-May 2020 compared to March-May 2019 and shows:- 22 percent fewer (1.7 million) vaccinations received by beneficiaries up to age 2- 44 percent fewer (3.2 million) child screening services that assess physical and cognitive development and can provide early detection of autism and developmental delay, among other conditions, even after accounting for the increased use of telehealth- 69 percent fewer (7.6 million) dental servicesThe preliminary data shows that beneficiaries age 18 and under enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP had relatively low treatment rates due to COVID-19. Although more than 250,000 children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP were tested for COVID-19 through June 2020, only about 32,000 received treatment for COVID-19 and fewer than 1,000 were hospitalized for COVID-19 through the end of May.