Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
The Biden administration and state officials are bracing for a great unwinding: millions of people losing their Medicaid benefits when the pandemic health emergency ends (Source: “Why Millions on Medicaid Are at Risk of Losing Coverage in the Months Ahead,” Kaiser Health News, February 14, 2022).
Before the public health crisis, states regularly reviewed whether people still qualified for the safety-net program, based on their income or perhaps their age or disability status. While those routines have been suspended for the past two years, enrollment climbed to record highs. As of July 2021, 76.7 million people, or nearly 1 in 4 Americans, were enrolled, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
When the public health emergency ends, state Medicaid officials face a huge job of reevaluating each person’s eligibility and connecting with people whose jobs, income, and housing might have been upended during the pandemic. People could lose their coverage if they earn too much or don’t provide the information their state needs to verify their income or residency.
The Biden Administration is giving states a year to go through the process, but officials say financial pressures will push them to go faster. Congress gave states billions of dollars to support the coverage requirement. But the money will dry up soon after the end of the public emergency — and much faster than officials can review the eligibility of millions of people, state Medicaid officials say.
The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians will be sending a letter to the director of the Ohio Department of Medicaid outlining our concerns with continued access to health care for these patients. Watch future editions of the Weekly Family Medicine Update for details.