In 2020, certain Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) requirements were temporarily waived to help prevent people from losing their health care coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy ended on March 31, 2023.
The expiration of the continuous coverage requirement presents the single largest health coverage transition event since the first open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act. Each state has their own process and timeline for asking people who are currently enrolled in Medicaid to demonstrate that they still qualify for Medicaid benefits. Some people will no longer qualify and may be able to buy a health plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace and get help paying for it.
Over 14 million people seen in health centers who currently have Medicaid coverage will be affected by these changes. Over forty percent of the over 550,000 people with HIV in the Ryan White Program have Medicaid coverage and fifty percent all of births in rural, nonmetropolitan areas are paid for by Medicaid. Almost 3.7 million infants—nearly every newborn in the country— receive newborn screening through HRSA-administered maternal and child health programs.
HRSA has directed more than $4.5 million in additional funding to address potential coverage gaps due to the expiration of the continuous coverage requirement for people on Medicaid.
Resources:
- Fact Sheet: Medicaid Continues Enrollment Unwinding: Preparing To Support Patients Served by HRSA Programs (PDF - 58 KB)
- Joint HRSA/Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services letter: Important Notice Regarding Medicaid Unwinding of the Continuous Enrollment Condition (PDF - 266 KB)
- March 23, 2023 Program Letter (PDF - 182 KB) to over the 2,000 Ryan White Program providers to support enrollment activities for their clients.
- March 29, 2023 Program Letter (PDF - 195 KB) to over 43,000 maternal and child health stakeholders across the country to share resources and guidance on the Medicaid redetermination process.
- Unwinding Communications Resources
Visit Medicaid.Gov for resources on the Medicaid and CHIP redetermination process and returning to regular operations after COVID-19.