These changes helped to address longstanding instability in Medicaid coverage for many people. Before the pandemic, nearly 25% of those with Medicaid would enter or exit the program each year as their short-term circumstances changed.

People would lose Medicaid coverage when their income ticked up, their family circumstances changed, they aged out of CHIP, or they failed to complete required paperwork. Losing Medicaid coverage can lead to someone ending up without any health insurance at all, which increases the likelihood they will postpone or never get needed care. Having the same people frequently entering and exiting the program also increases the program’s administrative costs over time.

Changes to Medicaid policy in response to the pandemic made it much easier for everyone enrolled in Medicaid to keep their coverage. To illustrate, just over half of Wisconsin’s Medicaid growth in 2020 came from that state keeping existing enrollees in the program who might otherwise have lost coverage for at least a few months.

Young adults, especially those aged 18 and 19, and Americans who recently gave birth are two groups that benefited from this change in Medicaid policy.

Even with many aspects of daily life getting back to normal, and President Joe Biden’s comments to the media about the pandemic being “over,” the official public health emergency that spurred Medicaid enrollment growth still remains in force.

When the government renewed the declaration for the 10th time in July 2022, it set a new expiration date of Oct. 13, 2022. The administration also said it would provide states with 60 days notice before it would end the federal emergency declaration, which suggests the declaration will be renewed at least one more time.

When the emergency ends, states will have to reevaluate eligibility for everyone with Medicaid within 12 months. Extra federal funding for states will also end.

These changes will have profound consequences. Millions of people will have to reestablish their eligibility for Medicaid and are at risk of losing coverage if they do not complete the required paperwork on time.

The administration may ultimately decide to renew the COVID-19 emergency declaration again, as hundreds of Americans are still dying daily from the disease. Keeping it in place would prevent a massive drop in Medicaid enrollment and make it easier to continue other COVID-19 public health policies, such as making free COVID-19 testing and vaccinations widely available.

Beyond extending the public health emergency, we believe that states and the federal government can seek new ways to minimize disruptions in coverage and to make Medicaid more accessible to the millions of Americans who depend on it for health insurance.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Julie Donohue, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences and Eric T. Roberts, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences. Like this article? subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Read more:
Not just for the poor: The crucial role of Medicaid in America’s health care system

1 in 4 Americans are covered by Medicaid or CHIP – a program that insures low-income kids

Julie Donohue receives funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

Eric T. Roberts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.