AUSTIN, TX –  The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is extending Medicaid coverage for about 34,000 children in the Houston-Beaumont areas over concerns that Hurricane Ike may have disrupted the ability of families to return the forms to renew their coverage.

HHSC will automatically extend the children's coverage for 90 days in southeast Texas and send out new packets to help the families complete the renewal process by April. The children's coverage would have ended Dec. 31 without the extensions.

During a preliminary analysis of January enrollment trends, HHSC staff expressed concerns about an increase in so-called disenrollments in southeast Texas. Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins directed staff to call families in the area to determine the reason behind the decline in enrollment.

The agency tried to call about 600 families whose coverage was about to end and got responses from more than 100 families. One in four families said they didn't receive a renewal form. Among those who received the form, almost 80 percent said they returned the form. Most said they returned it by mail.

"We sent these renewal packets out just before Hurricane Ike hit, and families would have been mailing them back to us just after the storm," Hawkins said. "Given the widespread damage and disruption in services caused by Ike, we believe it's wise to err on the side of caution and give these families more time to renew their children's coverage."

According to HHSC, this marks the second extension of benefits for some families. HHSC automatically extended Medicaid, CHIP and food stamp benefits for families whose coverage was about to expire in the counties declared disaster areas immediately after Hurricane Ike hit.