In the last month, tens of thousands of low-income Americans lost their Medicaid coverage as states hurriedly dismantled the extensive safety net put in place during the height of the pandemic.
As states begin to drop people from their Medicaid programs, early data shows that many recipients are losing their coverage for procedural reasons.
Low-Income Americans Lose Medicaid Coverage
In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans lost their Medicaid coverage as a result of the extensive rollback of a pandemic-era policy that forbade states from kicking people out of the program.
According to preliminary data, a large number of persons experienced coverage loss due to administrative issues, such as when Medicaid recipients failed to return documents proving their eligibility or were unable to be contacted.
The high rate of coverage terminations for procedural reasons raises the possibility that many people are being denied coverage even if they are still eligible.
Children make up a large portion of individuals who have been dropped.
According to a clause in a coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in 2020, states were prohibited from removing people from Medicaid from the start of the outbreak until this spring.
During the public health crisis, the assurance of ongoing coverage shielded people from routine eligibility checks and prompted Medicaid enrollment to reach record highs.
Yet the policy ran out at the end of March, triggering a massive bureaucratic operation across the nation to determine who was still qualified for coverage.
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Policy Leaves Thousands without Coverage
States have recently started disclosing information on who has lost coverage and why, providing a first look at the harsh toll that the so-called unwinding is having on some of the most vulnerable and impoverished Americans.
In Arkansas, around 73,000 people lost insurance in the first month, including about 27,000 persons under the age of 17. Almost 80% of the terminations were made for procedural grounds, according to research by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.
In Florida, Medicaid coverage was canceled for more than half of those whose eligibility was verified last month.
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