The Biden administration reinstated health care coverage for approximately 500,000 children and families who were mistakenly disenrolled during the rollback of expanded Medicaid eligibility. This announcement, made on Thursday, is a significant step towards rectifying the oversight.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) extended coverage to millions due to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s continuous enrollment provision. This provision mandated continuous enrollment until the conclusion of the COVID-19 public health emergency, which ended in May.
In the months that followed, numerous individuals were disenrolled from federal health plans, despite their continued eligibility. Administrative churn, characterized by clerical errors or missing information, often led to individuals losing coverage. This disenrollment phenomenon is prevalent among many Americans who are unaware of how to maintain their enrollment status.
Concerns regarding the number of eligible individuals losing coverage prompted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to direct around twelve states to halt disenrollment processes during the summer.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) identified a “systems issue” in 30 states, resulting in the erroneous disenrollment of almost 500,000 children and other individuals. However, efforts are underway to address this issue and restore coverage to those affected.
The agency attributed the problem to automatic renewals, which rely on data such as state wage information to determine ongoing eligibility. In the 30 states experiencing issues, eligibility was not being automatically renewed at the individual level, impacting households with members of varying eligibility levels.
Federal regulations stipulate that eligibility should be determined individually, regardless of eligibility status within a household.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra expressed gratitude for HHS’s swift response, stating, “Thanks to swift action by HHS, nearly half a million individuals, including children, will have their coverage reinstated, and many more will be protected going forward. HHS is committed to ensuring people have access to affordable, high-quality health insurance, whether through Medicare, Medicaid, the Marketplace, or their employer.”
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