When Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in March of 2020, the legislation included a temporary provision that required state Medicaid programs to keep people continuously enrolled in exchange for enhanced federal funding. This provision ensured that those who were enrolled in the Medicaid program in March 2020 have remained eligible throughout the pandemic and public health emergency, regardless of changes in income. Thanks in part to emergency provisions like this, the uninsured rate has reached a historic low of 8 percent and the number of Americans enrolled in Medicaid has reached over 90 million during the last three years of the pandemic.
However, this provision will be coming to an end on March 31, 2023, due to new provisions in the Consolidated Appropriation Act (CAA) that was signed into law in December of 2022. This means that on April 1, states will resume Medicaid redeterminations, a very large administrative undertaking that threatens the healthcare coverage of an estimated 15 million people, or roughly one-sixth of the 90 million Americans currently enrolled in Medicaid. These coverage losses will also disproportionately impact children and people with disabilities. As the continuous coverage provision nears its end, it is critical that states prepare for the influx of Medicaid redeterminations and take steps to minimize administrative errors that may deny coverage to those who are still eligible.
