The pandemic has triggered a wave of disenrollment from Medicaid, having left at least 2 million children without health insurance since the end of the pandemic policy which guaranteed Medicaid coverage during the health emergency. Since the beginning of the pandemic, approximately 10.1 million Americans have been disenrolled from the program, with a staggering 18.4 million having their Medicaid coverage renewed. Many issues, such as paperwork snags and relocating families have caused qualified people, including millions of children, at risk of getting booted from the program. Important child advocate groups have labeled this massive disenrollment as a disruption to the social safety net, as it is of utmost importance to protect children’s health care coverage.
This policy’s unwinding has posed challenges to states as well as advocates, as they’ve seen an increase in coverage losses, even among people still eligible. It is estimated that “over 62,000 Coloradans lost Medicaid in June,” with nearly half of all kids in the country being covered by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The loss of health coverage for low-income children and their families comes as more children fell into poverty last year, as a result of the halting of government-funded pandemic aid, including the expanded Child Tax Credit, and parents experiencing a decrease in their income.
Overall, the pandemic has been the catalyst in driving many vulnerable and low-income families’ children off of Medicaid, bringing about many challenges that include losing coverage, as well as families falling into poverty, and children missing out on critical health care that they need. Expert’s are issuing warnings that qualified people, including children, are at risk due to various reasons such as paperwork complications, hence a more streamlined enrollment process is key in maintaining children’s much-needed health care coverage.
