With states expecting the current public health emergency to expire this year and the subsequent audit to follow, as many as 15 million people, including 6 million children, face the prospect of losing their health insurance, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute.
- Biggest change since Affordable Act
Even as the Federal government is likely to let states complete their work for up to a year, many state Medicaid, welfare and health insurance exchange agency heads have expressed the fear that without a clear date for kicking off their work, the efforts will become too complicated. They deem it to be the biggest shift in the health insurance landscape since the passing of the Affordable Care Act more than a decade ago. - Biden may allow public health emergency to lapse
Recently, the Joe Biden government gave a three-month extension to the public health emergency up to April 15, but indications are that the Federal government may allow it to lapse once pandemic cases decline and the vaccinations pick up pace. State officials have been seeking more funds from the Federal government and eyeing additional requirements for the unwinding effort. This is likely to protect against pressures from state lawmakers to expedite the process in order to save money and remove people from welfare rolls. - States barred from offloading Medicaid coverage
Medicaid coverage seizes when beneficiaries‘ income jumps above the eligibility level or they simply fail to complete their paperwork. The Congress, in lieu of providing additional funding to states during pandemic, barred them from removing people off Medicaid. The period saw a massive jump in enrolment to 76.7 million, a rise of around 20%.
With the real possibility of the Biden administration allowing Medicaid to expire, the states fear that closing the expanded social safety net could prove tricky as many of the millions removed from the rolls may not know they’ve lost their health insurance or which options are available for new coverage. And it is not the states’ problem alone as even the Biden government may be forced to deal with rising uninsured rates in an election year - States seek fixed timeline
A well in-advance timeline would help the states recruit and train more staff as they continue to face the shortage of manpower. This will further allow them to contain wait times and conduct outreach programmes with community organizations to ensure enrollees understand the importance of providing certain information to the state to keep their coverage. Jennifer Tolbert, director of state health reform at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said that just not knowing how much longer this will be in place is creating significant challenges. - Worries over states rushing through rolls update
The supporters of the Medicaid are worried that states may rush through to clear the Medicaid rolls as they may end up realizing a financial incentive. The extra funds provided by the Federal government to match the rising rolls will be slashed during the quarter where the pandemic ends. States may see this as a valid enough reason to hasten the process instead of taking the year, the Federal government has promised.