How Medicaid Enrollment Continues to Change

April 12, 2024

About 23 percent of Americans who were disenrolled from Medicaid since early 2023 report they are still uninsured now, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

The report, released today, is the latest to evaluate trends in Medicaid since the end of continuous enrollment after the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).

Among the key takeaways:

• Coverage roundup:  About 47 percent of people who were disenrolled say they subsequently re-enrolled in Medicaid. Another 28 percent who were disenrolled have secured another form of coverage.
• Delayed care:  Of those who were disenrolled, 56 percent reported they skipped or delayed care or prescriptions while attempting to renew their Medicaid coverage.
• Cost concern:  More than 75 percent of those who lost insurance or changed coverage from Medicaid to other plans said they were worried about the cost of health services. 
• In Pennsylvania:  In Pennsylvania, about 2 million enrollees renewed their Medicaid coverage; nearly 850,000 people were disenrolled.
  • This includes about 400,000 people who were deemed ineligible and 450,000 who were disenrolled for procedural reasons.
• Quotable:  “People’s current insurance status is likely to be very much in flux, and we would expect at least some of the people who say they are currently uninsured to reenroll in Medicaid—many say they are still trying—or enroll in other coverage within a short period of time,” Jennifer Tolbert, a co-author of the KFF report and the director of KFF’s State Health Reform and Data Program, said in a news story.

The KFF report is available online.