Supporters hold up Save Medicaid signs during Senate Democrats press conference at the Capitol with disability advocates to oppose the Republicans’ Graham-Cassidy health care bill.
Bill Clark | CQ Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Nearly three million people have been kicked off Medicaid since protections against the Covid-19 pandemic expired in April, according to health researcher data, with three-quarters of those individuals losing coverage despite the fact that they may still be eligible for the public health insurance program KFF.
Medicaid is the public health insurance program for lower-income individuals and families. It is heavily funded by the federal government, but largely administered by state governments.
The widespread elimination of coverage is a worrying trend, as people who lose some form of insurance often struggle to find alternative coverage due to the complexity of the U.S. health insurance system, putting them at risk of eventually becoming uninsured.
About 75% of the 2.7 million people who lost Medicaid coverage in 32 states and Washington, D.C., were kicked out of the program because they didn’t complete the process to renew their coverage, according to the most recent data, released Monday. published. .
That means their insurance may have ended, even though they’re still eligible for Medicaid.
Texas and Florida account for the largest shares of people kicked off Medicaid in recent months. Half a million people have lost their coverage in Texas, 81% of whom have had their insurance terminated because they have not completed the renewal process. In Florida, 300,000 people lost coverage, 65% of whom did not complete paperwork.
The number of people who have lost Medicaid coverage will only increase this month as an additional 11 states begin the renewal process for the first time in two years, including major states such as California and New York.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has estimated that as many as 15 million people could lose their coverage when all is said and done, though many of these individuals are expected to switch to alternative insurance plans.
Still, according to HHS, nearly seven million people could lose Medicaid coverage even though they remain eligible for the program.
red adhesive tape
Congress banned states from kicking people off Medicaid during the Covid-19 public health emergency in exchange for a boost in funding. As a result, Medicaid enrollment rose to an all-time high of more than 86 million people in March 2023, a 26% increase compared to February 2020, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
These Medicaid coverage protections expired in April after lawmakers inserted a provision into federal spending legislation in December that allowed states to kick people out of the program if they were no longer eligible. Eligibility for Medicaid is largely based on income.
But many people lose coverage because of bureaucratic red tape. This often happens when the state has outdated contact information and cannot reach the person. In other cases, a person may not understand how the renewal process works or may not be able to submit the paperwork before the deadline.
It’s especially difficult for people with limited English language skills to fill out the paperwork to renew their Medicaid coverage, said Jennifer Tolbert, an expert on Medicaid and the uninsured at KFF.
HHS estimated last year that one-third of those at risk of losing Medicaid are Hispanic and 15% black. Current data coming from most states does not break down by demographic groups.
Children are also losing Medicaid coverage in large numbers. At least a quarter of a million children have been unenrolled from Medicaid in the states of Arkansas, Arizona, Indiana, Oklahoma, Virginia and Washington, according to KFF. The total number nationwide is likely higher because many states do not provide information on the number of children who lose coverage.
Alternative cover
Health experts worry that people, even those who are truly no longer eligible for Medicaid, for example due to a change in income, may not switch to another insurer or coverage under the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare. People must apply for Obamacare annually, and some individuals may not know how the process works.
HHS has opened a special enrollment period to help people kicked off Medicaid find alternative coverage through Obamacare.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a June letter to U.S. governors that he was deeply concerned about the number of people needlessly losing their Medicaid coverage.
Becerra called on governors to do everything they can to make sure people don’t lose coverage for avoidable reasons. The number of people who have lost Medicaid has more than doubled since Becerra sent that letter.
HHS has the authority to prevent states from terminating people’s Medicaid coverage if the agency determines that local authorities are not properly attempting to confirm individuals’ eligibility. CNBC has reached out to HHS for comment on the latest data.
Tolbert said limited data from a handful of states indicates that the number of people switching to other forms of insurance seems small, though she said that could change as more information comes in.
The uninsured rate in the U.S. is likely to increase if people struggle to return to Medicaid or can’t transition smoothly to other insurance policies like Obamacare, Tolbert said.
