Acting to Keep Medicaid Coverage for Families

For more than a year, federal officials have cautioned that the end of the official COVID-19 Public Health Emergency could mean that millions of people may lose their health insurance coverage through Medicaid.

And now that time is here. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that the Public Health Emergency will end on May 11, 2023. Everyone who has joined Medicaid – the government insurance program for people who are disabled, have low incomes or face other challenges – will need to requalify for coverage.

It is expected that some Ohioans will receive notification beginning April 1 that their Medicaid coverage is ending, with an official loss of coverage on May 1. The process will continue in the coming months.

So it’s more important than ever that health care providers and families are aware of what is happening, and how people who qualify can keep their Medicaid coverage. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dayton Children’s Hospital and their accountable care organization Partners For Kids are working to communicate across the state about the issue.

The overall process is called “redetermination,” and it has traditionally happened every year. During the three-plus years of the pandemic, though, the federal government has provided extra Medicaid funding for states, and in turn, states have not removed people from Medicaid rolls. At the same time, the pandemic has created economic hardships for some, making them newly eligible for this federal insurance program.

By one well-regarded estimate from the Kaiser Family Foundation, there were 25% more people covered by Medicaid at the height of the pandemic than there were before it started.

Many of Ohio’s children covered by Medicaid are expected to be redetermined automatically, using documentation that already exists; if a child or family has been deemed eligible for certain other benefit programs, for example, that can be used as proof that they are also eligible for Medicaid. In those cases, a child and family have to do nothing to keep this insurance coverage.

When that automatic redetermination isn’t possible, people who are currently covered by Medicaid will receive a packet by mail, which they can use to prove their eligibility. But changes in address could mean that families won’t receive the packet. If they don’t understand that they must actively prove their eligibility, they may inadvertently lose Medicaid coverage.

For more information about the process and for tips about how families can act to keep their coverage, visit Nationwide Children’s 700 Children’s blog.