Health care
Health care
BY HANNAH NORTON
BY ELLE BENT
Over 1M Texas kids cut from Medicaid
Dell Children’s Medical Center gears up for stem cell program
Navigating Medicaid cuts Texas accounts for nearly one quarter of the children removed from Medicaid since the "unwinding" process began in April 2023.
Over 2 million Texans have lost health care coverage since the state began reviewing Medicaid eligibility in April 2023—including 1.3 million children. The state- and federally funded program provides health insurance for certain low-income Texans, including children, pregnant and postpar- tum women, people with disabilities, and seniors. The big picture Nearly 74% of the children removed from Texas Medicaid through March 11 were cut for procedural reasons—meaning the state did not have enough information to confirm the child’s eligibility—the Texas Health and Human Services Commission reported. Joan Alker, the executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, said that means the renewal process has broken down in some way and either the renewal letter was lost in the mail or families had trouble completing the paperwork.
Texans are notified at least 10 days before their coverage ends, a HHSC spokesperson said. Texas has removed more children from Medicaid than any other state during the Medicaid “unwind- ing” process, according to a new Georgetown University report. Nationwide, 4.16 million children lost Medicaid coverage from April-December 2023. What they’re saying Dr. Kimberly Avila Edwards, an Austin pediatri- cian, said the impacts of Medicaid unwinding are “painfully visible” to pediatricians every day. “Families are foregoing vital care for their chil- dren and teens for fear of financial devastation. Par- ents are checking in for their child’s appointments, only to learn that child is no longer covered,” said Edwards, who is also a professor at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas. Patients who experience gaps in health coverage are more likely to experience delayed medical care, unmet medical and mental health needs, and
Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, located in Mueller, is almost ready to offer a stem cell transplant program to patients, a feat that’s been years in the making. Dr. Amir Mian joined Dell Children’s last summer as division chief of pediatric hematology and oncology to help build the program. The details The program will treat children and adolescents with different cancers and blood disorders. Mian’s team is looking to start offering autologous bone marrow transplants by the end of this year. This refers to harvesting a patient’s healthy stem cells—located in the bone marrow—and returning them to the same patient who may have lost these
Additionally, Mian and his team are in the process of seeking accreditation through the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, or FACT. This takes between 12-18 months, and provides specific guidelines and quality measures to hospitals. As part of the accreditation process, Mian’s team has begun working on standardized operating procedures, or SOPs, which include steps as simple as how to identify patients, how to store cells and how to transport patients. Ideally, the team will begin collecting cells for transplants by the end 2024, Mian said. Once accredited, the program can provide stem cell therapies and allogeneic transplants. What’s next The team at Dell Children’s will continue working through regulatory processes to earn accreditation and begin treating patients by the end of this year or potentially early next year.
How does a stem cell transplant work? An autologous transplant is a long process that places a patient into an immunocompromised state. Step 1: A patient is determined as eligible for a transplant
Texas: 24% Florida: 14% Georgia: 7% California: 5% All other states: 50%
4.16M children
Step 2: Patient is admitted, placed in private room with air filters to reduce risk of infection Step 3: A patient’s stem cells are collected through the chest or the arm then stored in a blood bank Step 4: Patient is treated with a high dose of chemotherapy or radiation therapy to prepare for the transplant
SOURCES: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES, TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION, U.S. CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES/COMMUNITY IMPACT
unfilled prescriptions, Edwards said. To appeal a decision about Medicaid coverage, Texans can visit a local eligibility office; call 211 and select option 2; or mail a letter to the Texas health and Human Services Commission, P.O. Box 149027, Austin, TX 78714-9027.
to chemotherapy. The action taken
Step 5: Patients receive stem cells back into their bloodstream
Step 6: Patient is monitored throughout recovery process
After Mian joined the hospital in 2023, recruiting for the team that will work in the program began.
SOURCE: AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, DELL CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER/COMMUNITY IMPACT
HIGHLAND 5775 Airport Blvd (512) 366-8300 ARBORETUM 10515 North Mopac Expressway (512) 342-6893
Powered by FlippingBook