KAUFMAN COUNTY — Children’s Medicaid enrollment in Kaufman County fell by 2,302 between 2023 and 2024, a 9.9% decline, according to Texas Health and Human Services Commission figures published through Texas KIDS COUNT.
That decline signals a significant change in coverage. It does not establish that 2,302 children became uninsured, nor does it explain why individual children left Medicaid.
Some may have become ineligible. Others may have encountered incomplete renewals, moved away or obtained different coverage. The available county enrollment figures do not separate those outcomes.
The local enrollment trend
The published series tracks Medicaid enrollment among children from birth through age 18. It shows substantial growth during the pandemic period, followed by a decline:
| Year | Kaufman County children enrolled in Medicaid |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 12,717 |
| 2020 | 14,825 |
| 2021 | 18,463 |
| 2022 | 22,242 |
| 2023 | 23,214 |
| 2024 | 20,912 |
The series was last updated in May 2025. These are historical enrollment figures, not a count of everyone who lost coverage through October 2026.
A comparable Kaufman County adult enrollment series could not be verified for this report. The child totals should not be presented as an all-ages county count.
CHIP enrollment increased
A separate county series shows enrollment in the Children’s Health Insurance Program rose from 533 in 2023 to 1,242 in 2024 — an increase of 709.
CHIP provides coverage for eligible children whose family incomes exceed Medicaid limits.
The increase is relevant, but the aggregate figures do not establish that those 709 additional CHIP enrollees were the same children who departed Medicaid. Confirming individual transitions requires linked enrollment records.
Likewise, the Medicaid decline cannot be converted into an uninsured count by simply subtracting CHIP’s increase. Children can enter or leave either program, obtain private insurance or move between counties during the comparison period.
Why coverage ends matters
Pandemic-era federal protections generally required states to maintain Medicaid enrollment. That continuous-enrollment condition expired March 31, 2023, allowing states to resume routine renewals and coverage terminations.
Federal reporting distinguishes two important reasons for losing coverage:
- Determined ineligible: An eligibility review finds that a person no longer meets program requirements.
- Procedural termination: Coverage ends because the state lacks sufficient information to complete the eligibility determination, such as a missing renewal form or requested documentation.
A procedural termination does not establish that someone earned too much or otherwise failed eligibility rules. It also does not prove that everyone affected remained eligible.
Federal officials identified additional renewal time and targeted outreach as ways to prevent procedural coverage losses. Texas received approval for a one-month delay for renewals due in October 2023.
What the county figures cannot answer
Monthly or annual enrollment totals measure how many people are covered at a particular reporting point. They do not count every departure during the intervening period.
New enrollments can offset terminations. Someone may lose coverage and later regain it. County population movement can also change local totals without representing a statewide loss of Medicaid.
To establish how many Kaufman County residents lost coverage — and why — additional records would need to identify terminations by age, month and reason, along with subsequent reinstatements and coverage transitions.
Statewide renewal outcomes cannot reliably supply those missing county counts.
For rural families, the distinction matters: a notice that requests missing information calls for a different response than a determination that eligibility requirements are no longer met.
Residents can check notices, update contact information and review case status through YourTexasBenefits.com. Assistance is available by calling 2-1-1 or 877-541-7905.
