More than 60% of Adults are unaware of Medicaid eligibility redetermination

More than 60% of Adults are unaware of Medicaid eligibility redetermination, According to a survey that was recently conducted in which it was found that more than 60% of Americans were unaware that their Medicaid eligibility might be in danger, highlighting the enormous effort states and managed care plans face before the April 1 deadline. April 1 is the deadline for states to start redetermining the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report examined public knowledge of the impending redeterminations of Medicaid eligibility at the end of 2022. According to the poll conducted by the think tank urban institute, the awareness across the population was very low, regardless of the region and area.

According to Gina Hijjawi, senior program officer at the foundation:

“States and the federal government must quickly raise awareness that many families will soon need to take steps to maintain or find new health coverage.”

The December 2022 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, which polls more than 8,000 Americans annually on how they are addressing necessities like food and healthcare, collected data from Medicaid enrollees.

The findings revealed that, out of the total Medicaid recipients polled, 64.3% were unaware of the impending renewal procedure, which was almost identical to a related investigation last year that showed 62% of adults were unaware.

It was shown that 16% of individuals knew very little, 13.9% knew little, and 5.1% knew a lot about eligibility redeterminations. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, states managed care organizations, and other stakeholders have been preparing for the commencement of Medicaid eligibility redeterminations.

In 2020, in return for not enrolling anyone off of Medicaid during the COVID-19 public health emergency, states agreed to a higher federal matching rate for Medicaid payments. The states must reassess each Medicaid beneficiary’s eligibility after the emergency is over. The public health emergency has been maintained by the federal government for three years, but its expiration is due in three months. The PHE’s uncertain scheduling, which the Department of Health and Human Services has renewed for 90 days at a time, might be one of the major reasons the awareness has remained persistently low.

Jennifer Haley, a lead research associate at Urban, spoke to the media stating that several states were not intimating the people as they were still not sure. States just didn’t know what to say to notify people which may be of the issues for individuals. States now have an April 1 deadline imposed by a funding package enacted at the end of last year to begin redeterminations.

Experts believe that roughly 1 in 5 individuals who received information on consumer help were those who learned about the return to renewals directly from their state or health plan. Given the significance, it will be essential to connect the individuals with different companies that can offer support.

Haley wishes that government use a direct strategy to engage with customers and raise awareness. These additional connections will be essential since certain beneficiaries may no longer qualify for Medicaid following the redetermination procedure and will need to be directed toward other coverage options.

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