
A series from State Health and Value Strategies provides resources to support states in “unwinding” and prioritizing coverage retention when the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement ends.
The Issue
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Medicaid “continuous coverage” requirement has allowed people to retain Medicaid coverage and get needed care during the COVID-19 pandemic. When continuous enrollment is discontinued, states will restart eligibility redeterminations for nearly all 80 million people enrolled in Medicaid. While most people will continue to be eligible for Medicaid or Marketplace coverage, the potential for loss of coverage for millions of Americans due to “administrative” reasons is significant, and Black, Latino(a) and other people of color will be most at risk.
State Health and Value Strategies is developing a series of products and programming intended to serve as a resource for states in planning for and beginning to “unwind” the continuous coverage requirement. Materials will build on federal sub-regulatory guidance, best practices from states across the country, and the input from consumer advocates to provide resources for states seeking to optimize coverage retention for consumers who remain eligible for Medicaid or who are eligible for subsidized Marketplace coverage.
The latest brief in the series, "Medicaid Enrollment Trends During the COVID-19 Pandemic," examines how Medicaid enrollment growth has substantially outpaced pre-COVID-19 rates of growth in the program, particularly among non-elderly, non-disabled adults.