https://mailchi.mp/c9e26ad7702a/the-weekly-gist-april-7-2023?e=d1e747d2d8

April 1st marked the start date of a one-year window for state Medicaid offices to reassess their beneficiary rolls, as Medicaid’s continuous enrollment policy sunsets. Since the early days of the pandemic, the federal government has boosted state Medicaid funding by 6.2 percent, in exchange for a requirement that current Medicaid beneficiaries maintain eligibility, regardless of changes to their income or other qualifiers. This policy helped grow national Medicaid enrollment to a record 90M, but a projected 15M may now lose coverage through the redetermination process. 

The Gist: After the US uninsured rate recently hit a record low, millions of Americans will now lose insurance coverage, at least temporarily.Of those no longer eligible for Medicaid, an estimated 2.7M will qualify for subsidized exchange plans, while around 400K in non-expansion states will have incomes too high for Medicaid and too low for exchange subsidies. The impact will vary in each state, both in terms of how quickly and how many Medicaid beneficiaries are disenrolled.

But in over half of states, at least one-fifth of those who will lose Medicaid coverage are projected to remain uninsured—a significant step backward in the effort to ensure universal coverage. 

Communication from Medicaid offices and exchange plan navigators will be key to preventing as many people as possible from becoming uninsured.