The analysis on this page is part of a larger suite of Medicaid unwinding data. Please visit our “Unwinding the PHE” landing page to view more.
As of March 2023, more than 35.1 million children were enrolled in Medicaid and approximately 4.3 million were enrolled in Medicaid coverage funded by CHIP—more than half of all U.S. children. Children are eligible for Medicaid coverage, or for coverage in the state’s separate CHIP program, at much higher family income levels than adults so they are more likely to remain eligible during the unwinding process. However, children are also more likely to be disenrolled for procedural reasons and to experience gaps in coverage before re-enrolling back onto Medicaid. Because children of color make up a disproportionate share of Medicaid enrollees and may face additional barriers to maintaining coverage, disenrollments may widen racial and ethnic disparities in health insurance coverage and restrict access to care. Last year, CCF estimated that as many as 6.7 million children could experience a period of uninsurance as a consequence of the unwinding.
CCF researchers are tracking changes in Medicaid enrollment during the unwinding process to monitor health coverage losses for children. To capture data in near-real time, CCF uses enrollment data posted by states on their websites because those data are generally more timely than federal sources. However, not every state posts enrollment data. Some states may release additional data, such as disenrollments, in unwinding-specific data reports or state dashboards but the map and charts below do not include those sources of other data. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also publishes monthly state enrollment numbers with a lag of several months. We use the CMS enrollment data for states that do not post their own data directly as it becomes available.
