<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4ZYGEI_1FNCUCIw00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4ZYGEI_1FNCUCIw00" width="1680" height="876" ><figcaption>(Texas Tribune)</figcaption></figure>Texas' Medicaid application backlog has skyrocketed in 2026, state data shows, as federal changes may bring uncertainty to some families trying to access the program.The program's application backlog grew from less than 2,000 to more than 210,000 between January and August, according to Texas Health and Human Services Commission data obtained by Texans Care for Children, a policy nonprofit.The backlog coincides with Medicaid enrollment returning to base levels from a pandemic burst. It's not yet clear if that decrease shows Texas families are more or less able to afford other forms of health insurance, said Texas A&amp;M professor Laura Dague, who researches Medicaid in Texas.Nonetheless, some community health organizers are worried that health insurance is becoming harder to access between the backlog and incoming federal changes to Medicaid eligibility. Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the United States."I don't think that private insurance is now more readily available," said Sonia Lara, outreach and special populations director at the Texas Association of Community Health Centers. "I think that we're going to see ... more people being impacted."Diana Forester, director of health policy for Texans Care for Children, called the backlog "unprecedented" in otherwise normal circumstances. In recent years, the only other time the backlog reached a similar scale came after pandemic-era extensions on Medicaid enrollment ended and waves of beneficiaries needed to be reenrolled.In Texas, residents apply for Medicaid, food assistance (SNAP) and other social benefits through a unified system. Health and Human Services staff review their applications and determine eligibility.The federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in summer 2025, ties state funding for Medicaid and SNAP to the programs' error rates — how much aid recipients are over- or underpaid. As a result, eligibility reviewers are likely approaching applications for both programs more cautiously, driving up application backlogs, Forester said."We need to find a way to be accurate without these delays," Forester said.The SNAP backlog has also shot up this year, from less than 4,000 in January to more than 150,000 in August, according to Health and Human Services data.Forester called Texas' application system "really antiquated" because of its reliance on manual data entry. The legislature invested heavily in software improvements for the application process last year, but the upgraded system could take eight years to roll out.State agency spokesperson Jennifer Ruffcorn wrote in an email to The Dallas Morning News that HHSC will continue supporting eligible Texas families as quickly as possible.Meanwhile, the application backlog may be contributing to declining Medicaid caseloads, A&amp;M's Dague said. They hit their lowest number since at least 2014, according to data from the Health and Human Services Commission.From the start of the pandemic through early 2023, states and the federal government worked to keep people continuously enrolled in Medicaid, leading to a period of heightened caseloads. The subsiding 2026 enrollment is still "comparable" to pre-pandemic numbers, Dague said.Lara, with the Texas Association of Community Health Centers, said she's concerned Medicaid usage will continue to drop with fewer people able to access it. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act removed Medicaid eligibility from some immigration statuses, including refugee and asylee groups. Those changes will occur in October.Other federal eligibility changes, especially those tied to work requirements, might have a smaller impact on Texas than other states, Dague said. That's because Texas already has strict rules for who can access Medicaid that wouldn't change much under the new law.Amid the changes and delays in Medicaid coverage, Lara said she's worried about people not seeking care if they have uncertain access to health insurance."They may delay going to the doctor because they don't have a way to pay for it," Lara said. "What we're seeing in our health centers: Families making choices, tough choices."</div></body>

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Texas' Medicaid application backlog has skyrocketed in 2026, state data shows, as federal changes may bring uncertainty to some families trying to access the program. The program's application backlog grew from less than 2,000 to more than 210,000 between January and August, according to Texas Health and Human Services Commission data obtained by Texans Care for Children, a policy nonprofit.

Texas’ Medicaid Backlog Has Exploded

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Texas' Medicaid application backlog has skyrocketed in 2026, state data shows, as federal changes may bring uncertainty to some families trying to access t

Texas’ Medicaid Backlog Has Exploded

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