Medicaid has been able to help millions access healthcare when their circumstance might not have allowed them to acquire care otherwise. At the start of the pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which included a requirement that Medicaid programs must keep people enrolled until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the legislation agreed to increase the funding for these state run programs as well.
Recently as part of an end-of-the-year spending bill, signed into law on December 29, 2022, Congress chose to end the continuous enrollment provision on March 31, 2023, the additional funding that was provided will be phased out by Dec 2023. States that accept the enhanced federal funding can resume disenrollments beginning in April but must meet certain reporting and other requirements during the unwinding process.
From the beginning of the pandemic to now, here are some important things to note about Medicaid:
1. Medicaid enrollment has increased since the start of the pandemic, primarily due to the continuous enrollment provision.
2. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) estimates that between 5 million and 14 million people will lose Medicaid coverage once the continuous enrollment provision ends.
3. States are required to develop plans for how they will resume routine operations when the continuous enrollment provision ends.
4. States can obtain temporary waivers to pursue strategies to support their unwinding plans.
5. People who have moved since the start of the pandemic, those with limited English proficiency (LEP) and people with disabilities, may be at greater risk for losing Medicaid coverage when the continuous enrollment provision ends.
6. The number of people without health insurance could increase if people who lose Medicaid coverage are unable to transition to other coverage.
As the states start to roll out their plans for disenrollment it’s important to have your own plan in place. Losing Medicaid immediately qualifies an individual or family for a special enrollment period. If this transition will affect you or your loved ones, the best way to prepare is to talk to a Health Insurance Broker, a broker can help you understand your options outside of Medicaid and do all of the heavy lifting for you. Brokers are free to talk to and help you understand how your health insurance works.
We assists small groups and individuals in providing and understanding health insurance plans. We have built our business on helping property & casualty agents and financial advisers consult with their clients to have clear health care coverage for their clients.
At our agency, we take your privacy seriously. Unlike big insurance agencies that sell your information to high-pressure agents, we only use it to connect with you personally. This way, we can ensure that you get a plan that's tailored specially for you.
