{"id":6310,"date":"2021-10-20T12:41:41","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T16:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chirblog.org\/?p=6310"},"modified":"2021-10-25T16:57:57","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T20:57:57","slug":"to-avoid-big-coverage-losses-post-phe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chirblog.org\/to-avoid-big-coverage-losses-post-phe\/","title":{"rendered":"To Avoid Big Coverage Losses, Marketplaces Need to Prepare for the End of the Public Health Emergency"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Sabrina Corlette and Megan Houston<\/em><\/p>\n The COVID-19 pandemic will end, and with it the federal government is expected to lift the \u201cPublic Health Emergency\u201d (PHE) first declared on January 31, 2020<\/a> and extended seven times<\/a> since then. Allowing the PHE to expire is more than the symbolic end of the pandemic; it signals the termination of numerous policies that have had far-reaching effects across our health system, from vaccine coverage to the regulation and reimbursement of telehealth services. One of the most potentially disruptive changes will be the resumption of Medicaid eligibility redeterminations, which have been suspended for most of the pandemic.<\/p>\n The Urban Institute has projected that as many as 15 million<\/a> people could lose their Medicaid eligibility (some argue<\/a> that number could be even larger). If these individuals are not successfully transitioned into other forms of coverage, it could lead to a dramatic increase in uninsured, erasing the significant progress<\/a> that has been made in the last year to boost coverage rates. The loss of Medicaid coverage is likely to disproportionately affect Black and Latino\/a individuals, exacerbating existing and systemic inequities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thankfully, most people who lose Medicaid eligibility after the PHE ends will have access to other coverage options. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces will likely absorb a large portion of disenrolled individuals, but need to start planning now to prevent people falling through the cracks.<\/p>\n In March of 2020, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act<\/a> (FFCRA), the first of several pandemic relief packages. FFCRA included a provision temporarily increasing the federal government\u2019s share of Medicaid payments to help states manage the COVID-19 public health emergency. States that take the extra federal funds must not impose any new restrictions on Medicaid eligibility and are prevented from terminating anyone from the program for the duration of the PHE. These protections, combined with pandemic-related losses of employer-sponsored insurance, increased Medicaid enrollment nationwide by more than 11 million<\/a> between February 2020 and April 2021. This number is probably higher today, given FFCRA\u2019s continuous coverage requirement.<\/p>\n The current PHE is scheduled to last until January 15, 2022, but given the devastating and ongoing effects of the COVID-19 Delta variant, the Biden administration could extend the PHE beyond that date. However, it has begun preparations for the inevitable end of the PHE, and provided guidance<\/a> to state Medicaid agencies on the process for recommencing eligibility redeterminations. Although that guidance gives states up to 12 months to complete redeterminations, as FFCRA\u2019s enhanced federal Medicaid funding expires, state Medicaid agencies will be under tremendous budgetary pressure to move quickly. Indeed, Ohio\u2019s legislature has already required its Medicaid agency to complete<\/a> its review within two months.<\/p>\nHow will the End of the Public Health Emergency Affect Coverage Rates?<\/h2>\n