Millions Around the Nation Will Lose Medicaid As Pandemic Relief Ends

• Author: Larry Herman PhD
• Posted: 2024-01-04

In 2020, Congress passed a pandemic relief package to aid those living in poverty or contending with financial hardship. This relief package included expanding the food stamp program to allow low-income households to procure food more easily, help for those who were facing eviction, the Child Tax Credit, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. A provision was also added to this package that allowed the expansion of Medicaid, so more individuals and families could have health insurance. Because pandemic relief is expiring, millions of people will lose Medicaid coverage around the country.
 

The Impact Losing Medicaid Will Have

As many of these Medicaid recipients have been insured for three years, receiving the news that they are losing Medicaid health coverage will be shocking and even dire for some, especially for those who are contending with serious medical problems. Numerous individuals have developed significant long-term health issues because of Covid-19, and this is commonly referred to as Long Covid. Long Covid can be debilitating, as people can contend with brain fog, chest pains, shortness of breath and intense and chronic fatigue. Sometimes, Long Covid can impact a person enough that their organs become involved.

Those suffering from Long Covid may still hold jobs, but they are only able to do so by relying on specific medical interventions. Many work in essential but low-paying jobs that do not offer any benefits, such as in retail, food service and housekeeping, and they do not make enough to purchase health insurance on the Healthcare.gov marketplace. Medicaid may be their only way to continue to receive treatments that they need to remain productive to support themselves and their families. Losing this essential health coverage puts them at risk of losing much more, such as their jobs and their homes.

Then there are families who have members who are medically fragile. These families may have someone who works and another who stays home and acts as caregiver. The breadwinner may make enough to pay for necessities, such as shelter, food and clothing, but they will not have the funds to provide health insurance for the family. Losing Medicaid for these families can be catastrophic because medically fragile family members will no longer be able to receive life-sustaining treatments and medications.

Finally, some states are removing people too rapidly before even verifying whether they qualify. These are called procedural removals, and these are resulting in people who traditionally qualify for Medicaid losing their coverage. This causes undue stress because Medicaid recipients who qualify will have to go through the redetermination process, and this can be time consuming. It also does not help that written correspondences about coverage or redetermination are difficult to understand or not provided in accessible formats to those with disabilities.
 

What Is Being Done to Help?

There is a plethora of nonprofit organizations around the country that are doing their best to pick up the slack. These organizations are helping Medicaid recipients who qualify to get back on their coverage if they were the victims of procedural removals. For those who fall through the cracks because they do not traditionally qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford to purchase health insurance from Healthcare.gov, some organizations will offer care on a sliding fee scale that is income based.

Organizations that have been established to help people with certain diseases and conditions can also help cover the costs for medications and treatments. Some examples of such organizations are:
 

• National Organization for rare Disorders


• American Cancer Society


• The National Kidney Foundation


• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation


• American Diabetes Association


• United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation


 

Lawmakers are also working together to pass legislation that will expand the Medicaid program in various states. Progress is slow because lawmakers cannot agree on a path forward. Even so, organizations as well as individual constituents continue to press for more provisions to be added to make sure more are insured.

As the Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Provision continues to unwind, significant challenges remain. Though there are many nonprofit organizations stepping up to help, the need will still be greater than what they can provide. The sooner that laws are passed for Medicaid reform, the better it will be for those who are falling through the cracks.