WASHINGTON (July 31, 2023)— Newly released data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that paperwork procedural issues – not eligibility – accounted for 4 out of 5 people who lost Medicaid coverage in April. During the pandemic, states were prohibited from ending people’s Medicaid coverage regardless of income status. That prohibition ended in April and states have since resumed their annual eligibility redeterminations. The Centers issued the first official unwinding data based on 18 states that have begun the process early. On Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter to all governors encouraging them to bolster efforts to retain people on Medicaid.
Bethany Hamilton is Co-Director of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. The Center leads education, research, and technical assistance efforts to help health organizations in the U.S. leverage legal services as a standard part of the way they respond to social needs.
“This news is a glaring example of how our country's justice gap is a public health crisis, and why we need widespread adoption of the medical-legal partnership approach to operationalize an all-hands-on-deck effort to address and prevent these costly and health-harming coverage losses,” Hamilton says. “Civil legal aid providers have historically helped low-income populations resolve problems related to Medicaid, and other forms of, coverage. These providers have long understood and strived to eliminate the often unduly, burdensome and unnecessary administrative requirements for coverage. Many of these requirements only serve to reinforce structural barriers to coverage for those with low-income, individuals with disabilities, and socially vulnerable populations such as older adults and people with limited English proficiency. If we want to address the mass disenrollment in Medicaid, then a massive undertaking to support the legal aid community with financial resources and a permanent seat at every healthcare system table must happen now.”
If you would like to speak with Bethany Hamilton, please contact Rachel Larris at [email protected].