Medicaid

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced Utah’s extension of comprehensive coverage for postpartum individuals for a full 12 months through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

  • In November 2023, 85,815,827 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, a decrease of 1,503,283 individuals (1.7%) from October 2023.
    • 78,710,401 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid in November 2023, a decrease of 1,523,107 individuals (1.9%) from October 2023.
    • 7,105,426 individuals were enrolled in CHIP in November 2023, an increase of 19,824 individuals (0.3%) from October 2023.
  • As of November 2023, enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP has decreased by 8,034,913 individuals (8.6%) since March 2023, the final month of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
    • Medicaid enrollment has decreased by 8,007,036 individuals (9.2%).
    • CHIP enrollment has decreased by 27,877 individuals (0.4%).
  • Between February 2020 and March 2023, enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP increased by 22,975,671 individuals (32.4%) to 93,850,740.
    • Medicaid enrollment increased by 22,637,644 individuals (35.3%).
      • CHIP enrollment increased by 338,027 individuals (5.0%).

Normally, states will review (or "redetermine") whether people enrolled in Medicaid or the CHIP program are still eligible to be covered by it on a monthly (or in some cases, quarterly, I believe) basis.

However, the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), passed by Congress at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, included a provision requiring state Medicaid programs to keep people enrolled through the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE). In return, states received higher federal funding to the tune of billions of dollars.

As a result, there are tens of millions of Medicaid/CHIP enrollees who didn't have their eligibility status redetermined for as long as three years.

Two weeks ago:

As I concluded in the last piece:

I strongly suspect that at least one of the remaining holdout states will join the expansion crowd this year, most likely Georgia, Mississippi or Alabama...but it likely will be some state-specific variant as described above. Stay tuned...

...As I noted, however, in all three [states] it's pretty likely they'll go with at least a partially privatized version as Arkansas has instead of a "clean" expansion of Medicaid proper.

Of course, as one Alabama-based advocate put it...

Mississippi better not beat us to expand.

— Jane Adams (@janeadamsid) February 16, 2024

Well, it looks like Ms. Adams may end up being disappointed...

via Access Health CT:

HARTFORD, Conn. (Feb. 20, 2024) — Access Health CT (AHCT) today announced it will host two free, in-person enrollment fairs in February and March to help HUSKY Health enrollees who have been affected by the Medicaid Unwinding process. The events will take place in New Britain and Stamford.

Medicaid Unwinding is the process of resuming the review of households for Medicaid eligibility after a three-year break during the Public Health Emergency. The eligibility redetermination process resumed April 1, 2023 and HUSKY Health clients will be notified when it is their turn to enroll. The process will end March 31. HUSKY Health is Connecticut’s Medicaid program.

Connecticut residents who remain eligible for HUSKY Health will likely be automatically reenrolled. Those who need to take action will receive mail with instructions.

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

February 23: CMS approved a postpartum coverage extension state plan amendment (SPA) for Alaska (link to come). This SPA approval will extend comprehensive coverage after pregnancy through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for a full 12 months. The approval of Alaska’s SPA marks critical progress in implementing the CMS Maternity Care Action Plan, which supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s Maternal Health Blueprint, a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving maternal health, particularly in underserved communities. Alaska is the 44th state, including D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands that have extended postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year, made possible by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP), and made permanent by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA, 2023), which President Biden signed into law in December 2022.

Connecticut

Right on top of my last post regarding Maryland moving legislation to allow undocumented immigrants to enroll in ACA exchange policies (at full price) is this story out of Connecticut:

Advocates spoke before the Connecticut Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, pushing to include more immigrant children in the Husky Medicaid program.

The hearing before the budget committee witnessed a significant turnout, with 260 individuals offering testimonies supporting Husky expansion in the upcoming state budget. Advocates emphasized the need to close the coverage gap for immigrant and undocumented children aged 16 to 18.

...Segovia says it is difficult to come up with an estimated cost to cover the population between 15 and 18, but it could be approximately $4.5 million. While this may seem significant, she emphasized the long-term benefits of health care access to vulnerable communities, outweighing the minimal budgetary impact.

Just a week ago, I posted...

I strongly suspect that at least one of the remaining holdout states will join the expansion crowd this year, most likely Georgia, Mississippi or Alabama...but it likely will be some state-specific variant as described above. Stay tuned...

And just a few hours ago, I posted a piece headlined, "Which Holdout State Will Be Next To Finally Expand Medicaid??"

Well, it looks like we may have our answer already. Via Ashton Pittman of the Mississippi Free Press:

A Medicaid expansion bill will arrive in the Mississippi Senate by Monday, beginning a process that could provide health care to about 230,000 working Mississippians, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann says.

via the North Carolina Dept. of Health & Human Services:

NC Medicaid Expansion Continues to Bring Health Care to More North Carolinians

PRESS RELEASE — As of Feb. 1, 2024, 346,408 newly eligible North Carolinians are enrolled in Medicaid and now have access to comprehensive health care, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Dashboard. NCDHHS released an updated the dashboard today, and it includes enrollment data as of Feb. 1, 2024. This number is more than half of the anticipated 600,000 people who are newly eligible for coverage, expected to enroll in Medicaid expansion over the next two years.

"In the first two months we have already enrolled over half of the eligible people," said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. "These individuals and families are seeing providers, utilizing preventative and specialty care, and getting life-saving prescriptions."

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