Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicaid Could Be Stripped From 15M When Pandemic Protections Expire
Modern Healthcare: Almost 90% Of Pandemic-Era Medicaid Enrollees At Risk Of Losing Coverage
Almost 90% of people expected to have gained Medicaid coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic could get dropped from the program once the public health emergency ends, a new report finds. Federal law has prohibited states from kicking beneficiaries off of their Medicaid programs during the public health emergency. That, coupled with COVID-related job losses, has caused membership to remain higher than usual. However, 15 million new members risk losing coverage once the federal government ends its emergency declaration, researchers at the Urban Institute said in a report released Wednesday. (Bannow, 9/15)
Becker's Hospital Review: 15 Million People Could Lose Coverage After Public Health Emergency Ends, Report Says
A new report by the Urban Institute, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, anticipates that 15 million people could be out of Medicaid coverage when the pandemic public health emergency ends. Medicaid enrollment initially swelled as a result of early pandemic joblessness and continuous coverage requirement of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, according to the Sept. 15 report. With the public health emergency in place through the end of 2021, researchers estimated that Medicaid enrollment could grow to 17 million new members since the start of the pandemic. That would bring the total number of Medicaid beneficiaries under the age of 65 to 76.3 million. (Moran, 9/15)
In other Medicaid news —
The State: McMaster Denounces Biden Decision On SC Medicaid Work Rules
Gov. Henry McMaster and the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday denounced a Biden administration move to prevent the state from inputting work requirements for certain people on Medicaid. In 2019, South Carolina got approval from the Trump administration to implement work or community service requirements for Medicaid recipients. South Carolina’s plan to implement the work requirements had been delayed until January 2022 because of the ongoing pandemic. But the federal Department of Health and Human Services reversed those requirements in August. (Bustos, 9/15)
Bloomberg: UnitedHealth, Anthem Penalized for Inadequate Plan Spending
Federal regulators have barred three Medicare health plans operated by UnitedHealth Group Inc. and another owned by Anthem Inc. from enrolling new members next year because they didn’t spend the minimum amount required on medical benefits. Private Medicare health plans are required to spend a certain threshold of their premium revenue on medical claims. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determined that the plans didn’t hit the required 85% level for three years in a row, prompting the sanctions, according to letters dated Sept. 2 and posted on the CMS website. (Tozzi, 9/15)
