Photo: Envato Elements
Following the end of the federal continuous coverage policy from the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 1.4 million New Yorkers were removed from Medicaid, reported Newsweek.
A Kaiser Family Foundation report highlighted that, while 3.3 million were able to renew their Medicaid, many lost coverage due to procedural issues such as missed deadlines or incorrect addresses. Nationally, about 19.6 million, or 30%, were disenrolled as states undertook the task of renewing Medicaid for millions. In New York, nearly half of the disenrollments were due to such administrative reasons.
While Southern states such as Texas and Florida have halted Medicaid expansion, making approval more difficult, the decline in New York’s numbers could simply indicate its large population and corresponding high Medicaid enrollment.
“Since their Medicaid populations are so large, it makes sense that they also have the highest number of disenrollments during the unwinding period,” Louise Norris, health policy analyst for healthinsurance.org, told Newsweek. “The number of eligibility redeterminations they’re processing each month is higher than some states’ total Medicaid enrollment.”
New York also offers one of the highest eligibility thresholds for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPS) and has expanded its Basic Health Program to cover more adults, providing alternative coverage options for those who no longer qualify for Medicaid.
“The best advice we can give is if someone finds themselves in the position where they have lost Medicaid is to immediately contact their state Medicaid agency, find out the reasons for the loss, and reapply if they still qualify.” said Chris Fong CEO of Smile Insurance.
Leave a Reply