Millions Will Start Losing Medicaid Coverage as Covid Safety Net Is Dismantled

States may begin to kick people off Medicaid if they do not meet pre-pandemic requirements. These are mostly based on income.

HHS estimates as many as fifteen million people could lose Medicaid coverage.

Some people may fall through the administrative cracks.

Congress has basically prohibited states from ending Medicaid coverage during pandemics, but this expanded safety net is now starting to shrink.

As the emergency safety net that was put in place to combat the Covid-19 pandemic gradually ends, U.S. States will begin to remove Medicaid coverage for up to 15 million Americans on Saturday.

Medicaid is a public health insurance program that provides coverage to people with lower incomes. The state and federal governments jointly administer Medicaid.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed by Congress in March 2020, effectively prohibited states from ending Medicaid coverage during a pandemic. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed in March 2020, provided a safety-net for the people during the first deadly Covid wave that swept across the country and crippled U.S. economic growth.

Medicaid coverage increased to over 85 million people in December. This is a 25% rise from February 2020 before the requirements for people to remain enrolled took effect.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services

.

States can kick people off Medicaid if they don't meet pre-pandemic requirements. These are mostly based on income. Congress included a provision that would have allowed states to kick people off Medicaid if they no longer met the program's pre-pandemic eligibility requirements, which are based primarily on income.

Allows states to begin disenrolling individuals on April 1,

.

Some states begin terminating their coverage in April while others wait until May, June and July. Below is a list of the dates that all 50 states plan to end coverage.

Here is a list that shows when each state falls.

Medicaid coverage for the first round of beneficiaries will be terminated

The Kaiser Family Foundation provided the table.

The state has up to one year to determine if an individual is still eligible for Medicaid and then 14 months to either renew their coverage or kick them off.

HHS guidelines documents

.

HHS

Estimates of 15 million people

Many of these individuals will lose coverage when the program returns eligibility requirements from before the pandemic. These individuals will be expected to increase in number.

You may be eligible for alternative forms of health coverage.

According to HHS, the changes will affect people of color disproportionately and young people.

Around 30% of those at risk are Hispanic and 15% are Black. More than 5 million adults and 4.7 millions children between the ages of 18-34 may lose Medicaid coverage.

HHS says that you can be kicked off Medicaid.

Estimated 2.7 million people could lose Medicaid coverage

The Obamacare marketplaces for health insurance should be able to offer tax credits. Around 62% of these people will be eligible for no-premium plans. A further 5 million people will be able get coverage through their employers.

HHS has established a special period for enrollment at

healthcare.gov

If you lose Medicaid coverage between March 31st, 2023 and July 31, 2024, we will help you transition to the Obamacare Marketplace insurance.

The majority of states (33 in total) use

healthcare.gov

As their insurance marketplace. These 17 states can offer this special period of enrollment, but they are not required.

Medicaid could be lost by up to 6.8 million people even if they still have it.

Eligible for the program. Before the pandemic people often lost their coverage because of red tape. A person could lose their coverage if they did not complete the annual renewal, or if state officials were unable to reach them because of a change in address or other issues.

Under a

Congress passed a provision in December that requires states to make good faith efforts to contact individuals whose eligibility status is being reviewed through multiple communication methods. A state cannot terminate coverage because a mail outreach was returned undeliverable. This often happens when an address has changed or for other reasons.

HHS estimated that in August 2022, 383,000 people would lose Medicaid when the pandemic-expansion ends. They will fall through an administrative crack known as the "coverage gaps."

In 10 states, this gap is present because Medicaid has not been expanded to include those whose incomes are up to 138% above the federal poverty line. Some people who are struggling to get by in these states still don't qualify for Medicaid due to the low income eligibility requirements. These individuals may also not be eligible for Obamacare tax credit, which leaves them without affordable health insurance.

Texas and Florida, the two largest states in terms of population, have not yet expanded Medicaid.