Most Adults in Medicaid-Enrolled Families are Unaware of Medicaid Renewals Resuming in the Future
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Most Adults in Medicaid-Enrolled Families are Unaware of Medicaid Renewals Resuming in the Future

Brief Nov-15-2022 | Haley JM, Karpman M, Kenney GM, Zuckerman S | 1-min read
  1. Insights
  2. Our Research
  3. Most Adults in Medicaid-Enrolled Families are Unaware of Medicaid Renewals Resuming in the Future
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Vote & Vax, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and SPARC, works with local public health providers to offer convenient flu vaccinations at polling places on election day across the country. These photographs were all made at the Southend Senior Wellness Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

Hartford is a diverse community made up of primarily of African Americans, ethnic Caucasians and Asian Americans, it also has large Bosnian and Brazilian immigrant communities. Thirty percent of the population lives below the poverty line, Hartford's rate of poverty is second in the United States only to Brownsville, Texas according to the last US Census Bureau's brief. The election department has informed them that a 2,500 person senior center does all its voting at this polling site, and this senior center has not done any vaccine clinics this season.

Laurie St John described as a "whirling dervish" by her co-workers tried unsuccessfully to start a Vote & Vax for the last few elections. She faced many challenges. It wasn't until a conversation with Tung Nyguen, DPH epidemiologist, which lead to a partnership between the Hartford VNA and Hartford DPH. This year is the 1st Hartford Vote & Vax a joint effort between VNA and DPH.

They have 1500 vaccines on site. They are doing shifts so nurses can vote. There will be bilingual translators on site. Vote & Vax greeters will be interacting with voters on line and in parking lot to help voters know that vaccines are available. Surveys will be conducted with vaccine recipients as they exit clinic as a part of the Vote & Vax results data requirement. Voting and Vote & Vax clinic will take place in separate areas on the 1st floor of the building, accessible through separate exterior entrances. There have been ads in the papers.  Anthem is providing free vaccinations to the uninsured., Vote & Vax, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and SPARC, works with local public health providers to offer convenient flu vaccinations at polling places on election day across the country. These photographs were all made at the Southend Senior Wellness Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

Hartford is a diverse community made up of primarily of African Americans, ethnic Caucasians and Asian Americans, it also has large Bosnian and Brazilian immigrant communities. Thirty percent of the population lives below the poverty line, Hartford's rate of poverty is second in the United States only to Brownsville, Texas according to the last US Census Bureau's brief. The election department has informed them that a 2,500 person senior center does all its voting at this polling site, and this senior center has not done any vaccine clinics this season.

Laurie St John described as a "whirling dervish" by her co-workers tried unsuccessfully to start a Vote & Vax for the last few elections. She faced many challenges. It wasn't until a conversation with Tung Nyguen, DPH epidemiologist, which lead to a partnership between the Hartford VNA and Hartford DPH. This year is the 1st Hartford Vote & Vax a joint effort between VNA and DPH.

They have 1500 vaccines on site. They are doing shifts so nurses can vote. There will be bilingual translators on site. Vote & Vax greeters will be interacting with voters on line and in parking lot to help voters know that vaccines are available. Surveys will be conducted with vaccine recipients as they exit clinic as a part of the Vote & Vax results data requirement. Voting and Vote & Vax clinic will take place in separate areas on the 1st floor of the building, accessible through separate exterior entrances. There have been ads in the papers.  Anthem is providing free vaccinations to the uninsured.

Most adults who are enrolled in—or have a family member enrolled in—Medicaid reported they did not know their eligibility for the program will be redetermined when the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) ends.

 

The Issue

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act prohibited states from disenrolling individuals from Medicaid during the PHE, but states will resume regular renewals when the PHE ends. When they do, millions of people could lose Medicaid coverage, either because they are no longer eligible for the program or because they need to take action, such as updating their mailing address and verifying income, to remain enrolled.

 

Key Findings


 

  • Most adults with family Medicaid enrollment were not aware of the return to regular Medicaid renewals when the PHE expires.
    • 62 percent of adults with family Medicaid enrollment reported hearing nothing at all about the forthcoming eligibility redeterminations, 16.2 percent reported hearing some, and 15.7 percent reported hearing only a little.
    • Only 5 percent of respondents reported hearing a lot about the return to regular Medicaid renewals. 
  • The most common source of information for those who had heard about the resumption of renewals was media or social media (34.3%), followed by a state agency (30.6%), a health insurance company or plan (24.5%), a healthcare provider (17.8%), or somewhere else (6.5%).
  • Half of respondents (50.4%) who had heard from a state agency or health plan about the upcoming change received a notification about the need to renew coverage.
    • Just one in five (21.3%) were told how to get assistance with the renewal process.
    • Less than one-third (29%) were informed of the coverage options available to them if they become ineligible for Medicaid. 

 

Conclusion

There are significant information gaps among Medicaid enrollees about changes looming at the end of the PHE. Researchers say it will be critical for State Medicaid agencies to increase communication efforts and simplify renewal processes to prevent unnecessary coverage losses.

About the Urban Institute

The nonprofit Urban Institute is dedicated to elevating the debate on social and economic policy. For nearly five decades, Urban scholars have conducted research and offered evidence-based solutions that improve lives and strengthen communities across a rapidly urbanizing world. Their objective research helps expand opportunities for all, reduce hardship among the most vulnerable, and strengthen the effectiveness of the public sector. Visit the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center for more information specific to its staff and its recent research.

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