Medicaid enrollment expected to hit 100 million early next year
Abigail Adcox
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Nearly one third of people in the United States are expected to be enrolled in Medicaid by early next year.
Medicaid enrollment is projected to surpass 100 million in 75 days, a record-high volume that has steadily climbed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a public website project from the Foundation for Government Accountability.
STATE REPUBLICANS WARM TO MEDICAID EXPANSION
The growing reliance on the federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for those with limited income and resources has been fueled in part by expanded federal incentives for states to expand eligibility and a provision within the COVID-19 public health emergency that has allowed millions of people to remain enrolled in Medicaid.
Under the emergency declaration, in effect until January 2023, states are required to offer continuous enrollment in order to receive additional federal funding, allowing people who may have exceeded income qualifications to remain enrolled. However, lawmakers have already reached a deal in this month’s year-end spending bill to allow states to begin removing ineligible people from Medicaid beginning next April.
Nearly 40 states and the District of Columbia have already adopted Medicaid expansion that allows more low-income individuals to qualify for coverage, with South Dakota approving a referendum in support of it in November. States received additional financial initiatives for Medicaid expansion under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The Biden administration has commended the policies as a primary driver for the uninsured rate hitting an all-time record low of 8% earlier this year, citing that it has been a critical source of health insurance for many families throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program had been declining from 2017 to 2019, but has increased in every state since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Kaiser Family Foundation. Between February 2020 to August 2022, enrollment went up by more than 27%.
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Critics argue that it keeps people who may not be eligible for Medicaid enrolled and drives up premiums for those on private insurance. The Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative think tank, estimates that out of 96 million people enrolled in Medicaid, 21 million enrollees make too much money to normally qualify.
“The pandemic-era policy keeping more than 21 million ineligible enrollees on Medicaid is costing taxpayers more than $16 billion per month. Despite the recently enacted legislation allowing states to redetermine eligibility beginning in April, the Biden administration is slow walking the process and hoping states will be sluggish to act,” said Hayden Dublois, data and analytics director for the Foundation for Government Accountability.