MEDICAID BENEFITS are changing. Some may lose benefits. Medicaid and state funding is now going through an “unwinding or redetermination period.” According to CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) and the FFCRA provision, COVID-19 officially ended March 2023.
At the start of the pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which included a provision that Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), in exchange for enhanced federal funding.
The FFCRA provision requires states to provide continuous coverage for Medicaid enrollees in order to receive enhanced federal funding. By preventing states from disenrolling people from coverage, the continuous enrollment provision has helped to preserve coverage during the pandemic. It also increased state spending for Medicaid. The continuous enrollment provision for Medicaid/CHIP began February 2020 and ended March 2023. This requirement was issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that lays out rules states must follow during the Unwinding Period, also called the Redetermination Period for Medicaid benefits.
Efforts are in place to conduct outreach, education and provide enrollment assistance can help ensure that those who remain eligible for Medicaid are able to retain coverage and those who are no longer eligible can transition to other sources of coverage.
But, as states resume disenrollments following the end of the continuous enrollment provision, millions of people could lose coverage and that could reverse recent gains in coverage. States can resume disenrollments beginning in April 2023 but must meet certain requirements to be eligible for enhanced federal funding during the unwinding. This Redetermination Period or Unwinding could last up to 12 months.
Eligible Medicaid individuals are at risk for losing coverage if they do not receive or understand notices or forms requesting additional information to verify eligibility or do not respond to requests within required timeframes.
* This article is for information purposes only. I don’t recommend, support, or diagnose any featured writer or article. I am not a doctor. Your health is one of a kind. What works for one person may not for another, so the information in these articles should not take the place of an expert opinion. Before making significant lifestyle or diet changes, please consult your primary care physician or nutritionist. You and your doctor will know your own health best.