Americans Begin Losing Coverage as Medicaid coverage purge Starts

Since April 1, when pandemic protections expired, more than 600,000 Americans have been stripped of their Medicaid coverage. An examination of state statistics by KFF Health News reveals that the great majority of these people were removed from state lists due to incomplete documentation.

Typically, states conduct periodic reviews of their Medicaid enrollment rolls to verify the eligibility of all enrolled individuals. However, due to a statewide stop in those reviews during the outbreak, the health insurance plan for low-income and handicapped Americans continued to cover people even if they no longer qualified. 

Medicaid coverage purge:

• Now, states are doing what’s called an “unwinding” of Medicaid, in which they’re going over their rosters and selecting who remains and who departs. 
• Those who are no longer qualified or who fail to submit their documents in a timely manner will be removed.
• Most states have eliminated people from their Medicaid rolls because of technical issues, not because they don’t earn enough to qualify. 
• A KFF Health News study of data from 11 states that gave specifics on recent cancellations found that 80% of those removed so far either never submitted the paperwork or were missing the needed papers. 
• Some legislators and campaigners have voiced concern over the number of people losing coverage and have called for a halt to the process in their respective states.
• Of the 53,000 people in Indiana who lost health insurance in the first month of the rollback, 89% did so because of administrative errors like not submitting renewal applications.

 During a meeting of a Medicaid advisory panel on May 24, Republican state representative Ed Clere voiced his shock at the startling figures, repeatedly asking state officials about forms issued to incorrect addresses, and pushing them to provide more than two weeks’ notice before canceling coverage.

Clere expressed concern that the cancellations would cause a vicious cycle that would be difficult to stop. Some people who lose their Medicaid coverage may not be able to pay for their previous medications or doctor’s appointments. They will require social workers’ assistance again a few months down the road when their untreated chronic diseases have spiraled out of control and they show up in the emergency department, he added.

KFF Health News investigated the most recent enrollment statistics and found that before the cancellation, more than one in four Americans, or 93 million, had health insurance via either Medicaid or CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan. Roughly 50% of children can take advantage of these services.

States will examine members’ eligibility in monthly tranches throughout the coming year, resulting in the expected dropping of almost 15 million people.

New jobs or the subsidies available under the Affordable Care Act will provide health insurance for many individuals. But millions more, including many children, will lose their health coverage and be unable to afford even the most fundamental medical necessities. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the uninsured rate for Americans under the age of 65 will increase from its current low of 8.3% to 9.3% in the coming year.