The Medicaid eligibility review set to begin in April of this year puts millions at risk of losing their health coverage in the U.S.
Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic and since the creation of the Medicaid program that provides health coverage to low-income people, an eligibility review process will finally be carried out for the 86.7 million people enrolled in the program, which could leave up to 15 million fewer beneficiaries, among which are communities of color.
"Research predicts that Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, African Americans, and Pacific Islanders will lose coverage by nearly 40 percent, respectively, and between 3 and 4 million children," said Farah Erzouki, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities at a press briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services where experts met to discuss the implications of this review process.
The problem doesn't stop there, however. Erzouki estimates that another 7 million people could lose health coverage for other reasons such as delays in paperwork even if they remain eligible, so she recommended that beneficiaries make sure their contact information is up to date.
"People who have moved in the last three years are at risk of not receiving notices or other important information," he warned.
Laura Guerra-Cardus, director of State Strategy for Medicaid, recommended —as did Farah Erzouki— that people keep an eye on their emails, since beneficiaries can receive letters for renewal from Medicaid at any time and the states of the country will have one year to begin renewals, so it is likely that notices will be sent throughout the year.
She also noted that those who are no longer eligible can obtain affordable health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), however those who lose Medicaid coverage have a very short period of time to make their transition to the ACA, so it is essential that those who are at risk of losing their coverage consult information on www.healthcare.gov.
California struggles to maintain coverage
In California, at least one-third of the population uses coverage as insurance for their children and more than half of this sector of the population has Medi-Cal coverage, however they are at risk of losing it due to the review.
Although California passed a continuous coverage law for young children last year, it will not go into effect until 2025, meaning thousands will lose coverage during that time. However, to prevent this from happening, they are pushing for the policy to be implemented as soon as possible.
Kristen Testa, director of health at The Children's Partnership, said, "This process is going to have a tremendous effect on all of those families. Every single one of them is going to have to renew," and she stressed the importance of reaching out to the community and informing them where they should go for renewals.
"There are county offices where medical applications are renewed and there are also community organizations and health plans that can help families with their renewal," she said.
Remember that in each State the eligibility requirements are different, you can check them at www.medicaid.gov
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