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This report provides data on state Medicaid and CHIP eligibility levels and presents a snapshot of key aspects of state enrollment and renewal procedures in place during the COVID-19 PHE based on information from the 19th annual survey of Medicaid and CHIP program officials in the 50 states and DC.
This post provides details about the ongoing Special Enrollment Period to sign up for health coverage on the ACA exchanges, including who is eligible to enroll, how costly Marketplace insurance is on average, and what other factors will affect enrollment during this period.
President Biden’s January 28th executive order to reopen enrollment in the federal ACA Marketplace from February 15 through May 15, combined with $50 million in federal spending on outreach and education about ACA coverage options, has the potential to reach millions of people who were uninsured prior to or have lost coverage during the pandemic. As of 2019, there were 29 million non-elderly uninsured people, and the majority (57%) were eligible for financial assistance through the ACA Marketplaces (33%) or Medicaid (25%). KFF estimates indicate that nearly nine million uninsured people could be eligible for free or subsidized Marketplace coverage during the new enrollment period. Importantly, these actions to facilitate enrollment in ACA Marketplace coverage will also likely lead eligible low-income people to enroll in Medicaid coverage.
This data note discusses changes in the number of applications for Medicaid/CHIP coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. Although enrollment in Medicaid/CHIP has increased steadily by more than 6 million individuals (9%) from February to September 2020, the total number of Medicaid/CHIP applications has decreased by more than 150,000 (-6%) in the same time period. The decline in applications might on the surface suggest that fewer people are applying for coverage even in the face of large job and income losses, but data limitations – in particular, the fact that application statistics do not distinguish between new signups and renewals – make it difficult to draw any clear conclusions.
Four million uninsured people could get an ACA bronze plan with no premium payment and 4.9 million others could get subsidies to offset the cost of such a plan if the Biden Administration were to re-open ACA marketplace enrollment, a KFF analysis finds.
As a result of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) , states have experienced increased enrollment along with administrative challenges. After the PHE ends, states are likely to have renewal and redetermination backlogs and will face decisions around continuing temporary policy changes. This brief highlights key issues from the new CMS guidance to states on how to unwind emergency authorities and resume normal eligibility and enrollment operations.
This analysis summarizes recent interviews with marketplace navigators and other consumer assistance professionals, who offered observations about the 2021 Open Enrollment period, discussed general and pandemic-specific challenges facing consumers seeking coverage, and offered suggestions to improve enrollment outcomes. The brief also reviews information about federal marketplace resources and spending priorities contained in Trump Administration budget documents, and possible sources of funding for a COVID-19 special enrollment period during the Biden administration.
As the Biden Administration takes office, the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic and related economic downturn are the key issues that will substantially shape Medicaid coverage and financing policy in the year ahead.
This issue brief analyzes enrollment and spending trends related to the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion ahead of the coronavirus pandemic and examines potential consequences of recent enrollment increases.
Federal legislation provides a temporary increase in federal Medicaid matching rates to states conditioned on states providing continuous eligibility for existing enrollees and meeting certain other eligibility requirements. This brief provides an overview of these maintenance of eligibility (MOE) requirements, examines what happens when the MOE expires, and discusses key issues to consider looking ahead.
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