US President Joe Biden stated in January that the COVID-19 public health emergency would end on May 11, including Medicaid coverage.
His declaration meant that federal funding for COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and treatment would expire almost three years after the emergency was first proclaimed.
Ending of Medicaid Coverage
Medicaid agencies were instructed to maintain beneficiaries enrolled throughout the height of the pandemic regardless of changes to their eligibility.
However, starting in April, states can start removing those who no longer satisfy the criteria for receiving benefits. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, during the COVID-19 crisis, Medicaid enrollment increased by more than 30%, reaching over 84 million people.
As per the anti-poverty foundation, the “unwinding” of continuous coverage after three years might result in up to 15 million users losing coverage.
While the majority of those losing Medicaid are those who are no longer eligible because of their high income, there are other reasons why you might lose coverage as well, such as failing to report a change in family status (such as getting married), being no longer pregnant, or moving to a state with a different income cap.
Up to 15 million people, including 5.3 million children and 4.7 million adults between the ages of 18 and 34, might lose their Medicaid and CHIP benefits, according to estimates from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Minorities will also be disproportionately affected: of those anticipated to be cut, nearly a third (30.7%) are Latino (4.6 million), and 15% are Black (2.2 million).
HSS projects that 6.8 million people, or 45% of those who are now eligible for Medicaid, will be dropped from the program due to administrative challenges like trouble with the renewal process, missing paperwork, or an unreported change of address.
Those who are affected by this administrative churning will need to start the Medicaid or CHIP application process over again.
Due to the quantity of redeterminations states must do and the length of time since Medicaid agencies last contacted many enrollees, HHS noted in an issue brief that administrative churning may be especially high.
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GOP Rejects Benefits’ Expansion Plan
Rural hospitals are struggling across the country as a result of declining populations, skyrocketing labor costs, and a long-term move toward outpatient treatment.
But, political decisions in Mississippi and nine other states, all of which have legislatures controlled by Republicans, have made these issues worse.
They rejected the government’s offer to pay for practically all of the expansion of Medicaid for the poor. Hospitals now have to pay more since they are unable to turn away people, regardless of insurance.
According to the American Hospital Association, between 2010 and 2021, approximately three-fourths of rural hospital closures occurred in states that chose not to expand Medicaid or had only recently done so.
Those who oppose expansion, who have been successful in Texas, Florida, and much of the Southeast, sometimes claim that they want to limit government expenditure. In order for the federal government to release the remaining 90% of the cost, states must contribute 10% of it.
But there are fewer and fewer holdouts. Since the option to cover all individuals with incomes below 138% of the poverty line opened up in 2014 under the rules of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, North Carolina became the 40th state to expand Medicaid on Monday.
The law, a significant win for President Barack Obama, has resisted Republican attempts to repeal or restrict it.
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