Neha Kandi

As the pandemic-era policy of providing continuous Medicaid coverage ends, in what ways does it affect underprivileged communities and people who have been stripped of Medicaid due to procedural matters or earning more than the income bar set for Medicaid and what are possible solutions to providing health care insurance to those stuck in this situation of uncertainty?

Started Feb. 24, 2023

Abstract or project description

During the time period when COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act the federal government provided those who were eligible for Medicaid continuous Medicaid enrollment due to job instability and other factors. After COVID-19 was declared no longer a public health emergency under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, the government instituted an unwinding of continuous Medicaid coverage. Most of the people that have been denied Medicaid under this unwinding were eligible for Medicaid, but were denied on procedural grounds. Others were denied as their income was higher than the bar that can allow someone to qualify for Medicaid. This means that their income is high enough to not be eligible for Medicaid, but often too low to be able to pay for another type of coverage source. This can put people who have been denied Medicaid on income basis in limbo as they can’t find any other source of health care coverage. The Affordable Care Act does provide other alternatives to low income people by providing generous subsidies for healthcare insurance. It is imperative that people are educated about such subsidies so that they ensure they have continuous coverage. The procedural problems associated with the unwinding process affect mostly underprivileged and minority communities, such as the Hispanic community. Churning, which is the process in which someone is improperly disenrolled and then re-enrolls in Medicaid, mostly affects Hispanic children. This article will take a deeper dive and spotlight the issues that arise from the unwinding process while also looking at possible ways to help those who are stuck in limbo due to losing coverage based on income status.