With the end of the Covid emergency, over 15 million people will be thrown off Medicaid. Then what should they do?

The continuous coverage requirement of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which prohibited state Medicaid agencies from disenrolling beneficiaries during the Covid public health emergency is about to end.

It increased Medicaid enrollment by an estimated 15 million people from the start of the pandemic reached a total of 76.3 million Medicaid enrollees under age 65.

When Joe Biden ends the emergency in May, 15 million people will then lose Medicaid insurance coverage.

Of the 15 million people who will fall off the Medicaid rolls next year 6 million will be children and 8.7 million adults.

Kaiser Health News, which is not affiliated with Kaiser Health Insurance, reports:

At the start of the pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which included a requirement that Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through the end of the month in which the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends, in exchange for enhanced federal funding. Primarily due to the continuous enrollment provision, Medicaid enrollment has grown substantially compared to before the pandemic and the uninsured rate has dropped. But, when the continuous enrollment provision ends, millions of people could lose coverage that could reverse recent gains in coverage. As part of an end-of-the-year spending bill, signed into law on December 29, 2022, Congress set an end to the continuous enrollment provision on March 31, 2023, and phase down the enhanced federal Medicaid matching funds through December 2023. States that accept the enhanced federal funding can resume disenrollments beginning in April but must meet certain reporting and other requirements during the unwinding process.

How does this make sense?

It doesn’t.

500 people a day are still dying from Covid in the United States.

Naturally, or should I say unnaturally, those most in need will be hurt the most.

Many will be at increased risk of losing Medicaid coverage or experiencing a gap in coverage due to barriers completing the renewal process, even if they remain eligible for coverage.

Enrollees who have moved may not receive important renewal and other notices, especially if they have not updated their contact information with the state Medicaid agency.

The movement of those moving in and out of Medicaid coverage is called, “churn rates”.

A recent analysis of churn rates among children found that while churn rates increased among children of all racial and ethnic groups, the increase was largest for Hispanic children, suggesting they face greater barriers to maintaining coverage.

People with disabilities are more likely to encounter challenges due to language and other barriers accessing information in necessary formats such as large print, Braille or access to American Sign Language interpreters.