Unwinding Continuous Coverage
-
CMS Releases New Guidance on Unwinding the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement
Yesterday, CMS released additional guidance and tools for states and Medicaid stakeholders on resuming routine operations when the Medicaid continuous coverage provision is lifted at the end of the public health emergency (PHE). While the State Health Official (SHO) reinforces prior guidance, it also provides new content and emphasizes the importance of protecting enrollees from…
-
What Can States Do to Reduce Risk of Children Unfairly Losing Health Insurance
In part 1 of this blog series, my colleague and report co-author Joan Alker, explained the dire consequences if states don’t put in the time and effort to get renewals right when the Medicaid continuous coverage provision is lifted. This blog will focus on how we developed risk assessments for children in all 50 states…
-
Governors Should Make the Protection of Children and Families from Health Coverage Loss a Top Priority
A unique and unprecedented set of public policy circumstances create a grave risk for the stability of health coverage in the year ahead for millions of children and families. First, some background. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress and the Trump Administration enacted a law in 2020, known as the Families First Coronavirus Relief…
-
Millions of Children May Lose Medicaid: What Can Be Done to Help Prevent Them From Becoming Uninsured?
Introduction As of June 2021, over 40 million children were enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP for their health insurance — the vast majority in Medicaid.[note]Georgetown University Center for Children and Families analysis of February 2020-June 2021 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services State Medicaid and CHIP Applications, Eligibility Determinations, and Enrollment Data, available at https://data.medicaid.gov/dataset/6165f45b-ca93-5bb5-9d06-db29c692a360.…
-
States Should Continue Medicaid and CHIP Improvements Achieved Through State Disaster SPAs Beyond PHE
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, states have been utilizing Medicaid and CHIP disaster state plan amendments (SPAs) for temporary, additional flexibilities to respond to the challenges resulting from the pandemic. As the administration considers when to end the federally declared Public Health Emergency (PHE), states and stakeholders should think about how to continue…
-
Secretary Becerra Extends the PHE: What Does This Mean for Medicaid and the Continuous Enrollment Provision?
[Editor’s Note: Read the latest on the public health emergency Medicaid continuous coverage protection here.] Earlier today, HHS Secretary Becerra renewed the COVID-related public health emergency (PHE). The latest extension will expire on April 16, 2022. By law, public health emergencies are declared in 90-day increments. The current PHE ends January 16, 2022, so a 90-day…
-
A Few Key Data Points Are Essential in Monitoring Medicaid Enrollment When the Continuous Enrollment Requirement is Lifted
The lifting of the continuous enrollment requirement associated with the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is inevitable, whether it be after the PHE ends or on April 1, 2022 as proposed in the Build Back Better (BBB) Act passed by the House. Regardless of what happens, millions of enrollees are likely to be disenrolled from…
-
CMS Tools Suggest Key Roles for Managed Care Plans in Helping Enrollees Retain Coverage
While we were all unwinding from our Thanksgiving celebrations, CMS was busy putting out two new tools to assist state Medicaid eligibility and enrollment operations. The first is focused on preparing for the return to normal operations after the COVID-related continuous enrollment requirement is lifted while the second is a refresher on best practices and…
-
Gaps in Coverage: A Look at Child Health Insurance Trends
The number of uninsured children was on a downward trajectory for many years,[note]The Future of CHIP and Children’s Coverage, Report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment Advisory Commission (MACPAC), March 2017, p. 7, available at https://www.macpac.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/The-Future-of-CHIP-and-Childrens-Coverage.pdf.[/note] but in 2017 started going back up, rising a full percentage point between 2016 and 2019 (see…
-
Reconciliation Bill Would Phase Out Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement with Key Enrollee Protections
There are many positive provisions in the Build Back Better Act (BBB) reconciliation bill as described by my colleague, Edwin Park, including filling the Medicaid coverage gap in non-expansion states, extending postpartum coverage, and making CHIP permanent. The BBB bill also phases out the 6.2 percentage point increase in the federal Medicaid funding and allows…
-
Build Back Better Reconciliation Bill Would Take Big Strides in Expanding Health Coverage and Access for Children and Families
[Editor’s Note: The U.S. House of Representatives approved a revised Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation bill on November 19, 2021. This brief by Georgetown University CCF and CHIR explain the Medicaid, CHIP, and private health insurance provisions.] Yesterday, the House Rules Committee unveiled a compromise reconciliation bill which includes numerous provisions that dramatically strengthen…
-
To Avoid Big Coverage Losses, Marketplaces Need to Prepare for the End of the Public Health Emergency
By Sabrina Corlette and Megan Houston The COVID-19 pandemic will end, and with it the federal government is expected to lift the “Public Health Emergency” (PHE) first declared on January 31, 2020 and extended seven times since then. Allowing the PHE to expire is more than the symbolic end of the pandemic; it signals the termination of numerous policies…
-
Medicaid Continuous Coverage Extended with Renewal of the PHE
The Biden administration has extended the public health emergency (PHE) for 90 days, from October 18, 2021 through January 16, 2022. What does this mean for Medicaid? First, the maintenance of effort provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act remain in effect until January 31, 2022 (the end of the month after the PHE…
-
Loss of Medicaid After the PHE Will Likely Exceed 15 Million Estimated by Urban
The Urban Institute recently released a new report projecting that Medicaid and CHIP will have provided access to health care (and peace of mind) for an additional 17 million children and adults by the end of 2021. The increase is largely due to the COVID-related requirement that states keep Medicaid enrollees continuously covered during the…
-
New! Tips for Advocates on Preparing for Unwinding of the PHE Continuous Eligibility Provision
[Editor’s Note: A new version of our Tips and Best Practices for Unwinding the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Protection can be found here.] Although the end of the public health emergency (PHE) remains a moving target, it’s not too early to start planning for phasing out the continuous eligibility maintenance of effort provision and the eventual…
-
CMS Takes Positive Steps to Protect Enrollees from Loss of Coverage at End of the PHE
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about opportunities for the Biden Administration to make improvements to the December 2020 guidance issued to states on resuming routine eligibility and enrollment operations at the end of the public health emergency (PHE). At the top of the list was to give states more time to catch up…
-
Medicaid Continuous Eligibility Linked with Better Health, More Efficient Health Care Spending
Continuous health insurance coverage produces a broad array of benefits across the health care sector for individuals, states, health plans, and providers. In particular, Medicaid continuous eligibility promotes health equity by limiting gaps in coverage for low-income children and adults who experience disproportionate rates of health disparities. Consistent access to health care, including management of…
-
Opportunities to Improve Guidance on Phasing out the Public Health Emergency Continuous Eligibility Provision
In December 2020, the Trump administration issued guidance on unwinding the Medicaid continuous eligibility provision associated with the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). There are a number of opportunities for the Biden administration or Congress to strengthen requirements for states to ensure that eligible Medicaid enrollees do not lose coverage at the end of the…
-
Medicaid Wars: The Unwinding Begins (Episode I)
Over the past four years, the Trump Administration has tried to undermine Medicaid by capping federal funding and stigmatizing its beneficiaries. This relentless ideological assault continued to the bitter end, even after the January 6 attack on the Capitol. As my colleague Joan Alker has explained, Secretary Azar and CMS Administrator Verma took actions on…
-
Biden Administration Promises Predictability on Future Extensions of the Public Health Emergency
In a recent letter to Governors, Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Norris Cochran signaled that the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) “will likely remain in place for the entirety of 2021.” Moreover, the letter assures states that when a determination is made to terminate the PHE or let it expire, HHS will provide states…
