Millions Fewer Children are Covered by Medicaid Now Than in 2023. Why?

In April 2023, more children were covered by Medicaid and the related Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) than at any other time in U.S. history – over 42 million children in all, according to Kaiser Family Foundation’s statistics.

Three years later, child enrollment has dropped by almost 7 million.

That’s a 16% decrease. Part of the decrease is readily explainable. But some children’s hospitals and other pediatric care organizations are becoming concerned that children who should be covered by Medicaid no longer are.

Medicaid is the government insurance program for people living in poverty and facing other challenges; CHIP is a related program that provides coverage for additional children. Anyone with Medicaid or CHIP insurance must prove that they meet the eligibility requirements every year.

But that eligibility process was suspended during the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, starting in the spring of 2020. During the three years of the official emergency, the federal government provided extra Medicaid funding for states, and in turn, states stopped removing people from Medicaid rolls.

At the same time, the pandemic created economic hardships for some, making them newly eligible. Medicaid enrollment spiked.

The federal emergency officially ended in May 2023, and anyone covered by Medicaid had to re-prove that they qualified for coverage. Some no longer qualified and were removed from the rolls.

But others who continued to qualify had the potential to lose coverage as well because they were unaware that they had to prove their eligibility again. Child-focused organizations, including Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dayton Children’s Hospital and Partners For Kids, launched awareness campaigns to notify families about the issue. And pediatricians themselves also worked to communicate with patients and families.

Now, Medicaid and CHIP enrollment has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that some children who qualify for the coverage are not receiving it. Partners For Kids, one of the country’s oldest and largest pediatric accountable care organizations, has restarted its efforts to educate families about Medicaid and CHIP.

“Our most important goals are keeping children well and making sure children who need care get the best services when and where they need it,” said Sean Gleeson, MD, president of Partners For Kids. “Some children can only receive that care through Medicaid and CHIP.”

Partners For Kids, Nationwide Children’s and Dayton Children’s have made their materials available for anyone who may need to re-enroll, or anyone who is interested in helping educate families about the process. More information can be found on PartnersForKids.org.

Published September 2026