27 states with concerning rates of procedural Medicaid terminations, per CMS

CMS warned 36 states they were not meeting federal requirements for Medicaid call center wait times, application processing timelines and rates of procedural terminations. 

On Aug. 9, the agency sent letters to Medicaid directors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, evaluating states' performance on Medicaid call center wait times and call abandonment rates, rates of procedural terminations, and the average wait time for applications to be approved. 

CMS warned Medicaid directors in 27 states and Washington, D.C. their rates of procedural terminations — Medicaid beneficiaries removed from the paper because of missing paperwork or other red tape, rather than being determined ineligible for the program — were too high. 

"While CMS recognizes the significant steps that states have taken to prepare for unwinding and [simplifying] renewal processes, we urge you to take further action to reduce the number of terminations for procedural reasons as quickly as possible by adopting strategies to increase ex parte renewal rates, to support enrollees with renewal form submission or completion, and to facilitate reinstatement of eligible individuals disenrolled for procedural reasons quickly," Annie Marie Costello, deputy director of CMS' Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services, wrote to state Medicaid directors. 

The letters used May unwinding data states reported to CMS. Several states did not report data to the agency, or had not yet begun the process of redetermining Medicaid members' eligibility in May. 

Here are the 27 states CMS warned, and the percentage of beneficiaries terminated for procedural reasons as a share of total beneficiaries due for renewal in May:

1. Alaska: 28 percent
2. Arizona: 27 percent
3. Arkansas: 35 percent
4. Colorado: 26 percent
5. Connecticut: 19 percent
6. District of Columbia: 23 percent
7. Florida: 14 percent 
8. Georgia: 13 percent 
9. Hawaii: 27 percent 
10. Idaho: 51 percent
11. Indiana: 27 percent
12. Kentucky: 31 percent
13. Maryland: 21 percent
14. Montana: 36 percent
15. Nevada: 45 percent
16. New Hampshire: 45 percent
17. New Mexico: 28 percent
18. North Dakota: 35 percent
19. Ohio: 16 percent
20. Oklahoma: 35 percent
21. Rhode Island: 11 percent
22. South Carolina: 49 percent
23. South Dakota: 32 percent
24. Texas: 52 percent
25. Utah: 48 percent
26. Vermont: 30 percent
27. Washington: 43 percent
28. West Virginia: 24 percent