Millions Could Go Uninsured Now That Medicaid Autorenewals Have Halted

The New York Times: Millions On Medicaid May Soon Lose Coverage As Pandemic Protections Expire
In a closet-sized windowless office, Kialah Marshall maintains an Excel spreadsheet with a prosaic title, “Medicaid Unwinding,” the source material for a mind-numbing routine. Five days a week, she and a group of co-workers in a poor section of Kansas City, Missouri’s largest city, call 75 to 100 Medicaid recipients from a list of about 19,000 who receive care at Swope Health, a federally funded network of health clinics. Their assignment is straightforward: warning those patients that they could lose their health insurance for the first time in at least three years. (Weiland, 4/3)

Time: Millions Of Americans Could Lose Medicaid: What To Know 
If a change in income or circumstance does cause you to lose your health coverage, you may still be eligible for other programs. Idaho residents, for instance, can find coverage through Your Health Idaho, a marketplace where individuals can compare health insurance plans. One third of Idahoans who enroll through the site make a $0 monthly payment for health insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, which took effect this month, adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level can become eligible for the public health insurance program. Forty states have opted in to the expansion, including South Dakota, which will begin to apply the new eligibility requirement in July. That means that people who lose coverage may become re-eligible by the summer. (Burga, 4/2)

Fierce Healthcare: How Elevance Health Is Tackling Medicaid Redeterminations
States won't be on their own to navigate this process, however, as commercial insurers in the Medicaid space are gearing up to assist during "one of the most disruptive times in the Medicaid program," said Aimée Dailey, president of Medicaid at Elevance Health, in an interview with Fierce Healthcare. "When you talk about the scope, it’s a little heady," she said. "State agencies in the past have methodically gone through based on an annual renewal, so it had some routine to it. (Minemyer, 4/3)

States begin their review of the Medicaid rolls —

CBS News: Massachusetts Notifying Residents Who Will Lose Medicaid Coverage
MassHealth is the Commonwealth's Medicaid arm and said during the pandemic, it picked up roughly half-a-million participants sending the current number of people on MassHealth to 2.3 million people. "We do expect to see our enrollment go down," said MassHealth Assistant Secretary Mike Levine. "There were a lot of people who became eligible for Medicaid in that time period who since then, have gained employment, who have income above the limit for MassHealth, and have access to their insurance through their employer." (Truitt, 4/3)

Oregon Capital Chronicle: Oregon Starts Review Of 1.5 Million People On Medicaid To Determine Who Qualifies For Free Coverage
The Oregon Health Authority starts a months-long review of the state’s 1.5 million Medicaid members this week to determine who still qualifies for the health insurance. ... The extra federal benefits ended Friday, forcing all states to review the income of their Medicaid members. In most states, Medicaid is limited to those who earn 138% of the federal poverty level, but Oregon recently obtained federal approval to raise the ceiling to 200% of the federal poverty level. That means a single person in Oregon can earn up to $29,160 in gross income, with up to $60,000 allowed for a family of four. (Terry, 4/3)

Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana's Looming Medicaid Purge Explained
Louisiana's 2 million Medicaid recipients will receive pink letters this week as the first warning of a nationwide Medicaid purge that could cause as many as 350,000 Louisianans to lose their health insurance. ... In May, the first notices will go out to those who could lose coverage. Those notices won't all go out at once, but will continue over the next year. (Hilburn, 4/3)

WMFE: Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Provision Ends. Here's What Happens Next
Hundreds of thousands of Floridians stand to lose Medicaid after a provision that allowed for continuous enrollment in the program ended Saturday. The program began at the start of the pandemic. Millions of Floridians stand to lose Medicaid after a provision that allowed for continuous enrollment in the program ended Saturday. (Pedersen, 4/3)

WFYI Indianapolis: 15 Million People Could Lose Medicaid In The Next Year. Here's What The Research Says
Lawmakers are giving states 14 months to redetermine millions of people’s eligibility — an unprecedented task made even more difficult by serious staffing and experience shortages in many Medicaid offices. “It’s going to be a big lift,” said Sayeh Nikpay, a health policy researcher at the University of Minnesota and Tradeoffs Senior Research Advisor. “States have never had to do this many redeterminations this quickly before, and there’s a lot of uncertainty about what will happen.” (Levi and Gorenstein, 4/3)

In other Medicaid updates —

CBS News: State Health Officials Expand Dental Benefits For Medicaid Beneficiaries In Michigan
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services expanded dental benefits for Medicaid beneficiaries and increased rates for dental providers to help improve dental services for Michiganders. This change will help increase access to services for recipients and began on April 1.According to MDHHS, through this change, there will not be any loss of services for anyone, and many people will see new services added. (4/3)

Billings Gazette: Medicaid Provider Stabilization Bill Advances In Montana House
A bill that would bring the state’s Medicaid reimbursement up to par with the findings of a state-commissioned study passed a second round of scrutiny on the house floor with substantial bipartisan support Monday. In an 82-to-18 vote, legislators acted on the bill with almost no discussion at all, moving to a due pass in less than five minutes. (Schabacker, 4/3)