Latest on Medicaid Coverage Losses, 2024 State Marketplace Rates

August 14, 2023

The end of continuous Medicaid enrollment has put a renewed focus on health insurance heading into 2024, as state leaders urge Pennsylvanians to stay covered.

Notably, the pandemic requirement for continuous Medicaid enrollment ended during April, meaning Pennsylvania and other states must again determine who is eligible for the program.

“We want to make sure that every Pennsylvanian who is eligible for Medicaid stays on Medicaid,” Department of Human Services (DHS) Acting Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh said in a statement last month.

Here’s what you need to know:

• By the numbers:  Nearly 4.6 million Medicaid beneficiaries have been disenrolled through August 11, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
  • In Pennsylvania, 138,000 people have been disenrolled. About 56 percent were determined ineligible, while 44 percent lost coverage for procedural reasons.
  • Disenrollment rates range from 8 percent in Wyoming to 72 percent in Texas.
• Reminder to states:  Last week, the federal government published a reminder to states to support Medicaid beneficiaries as they begin the renewal process. CMS is monitoring call center wait times, the number of procedural disenrollments, and application processing times.
• Pennie market rates:  The state last week announced proposed rates for the individual and group health insurance plans.
  • For 2024, insurers offering individual market filed plans requested an average statewide increase of 4.2 percent.
• Individual marketplace coverage:  Nearly 372,000 Pennsylvanians enrolled in health coverage through Pennie during 2023. About 90 percent of Pennie customers are eligible for subsides to reduce the cost of their plans.
• Quotable:  “This year's requested rates are tracking below the rate of medical inflation and represent a smaller increase than policy holders saw coming into 2023," Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael said in a statement last week. "Health care costs are rising across the country, but in Pennsylvania, our health insurance market is stabilizing, and our health insurance remain accessible and competitive."

With the end of continuous enrollment, DHS—in partnership with provider organizations, including HAP—has developed resources to help providers share important information with patients.

DHS’s stakeholder toolkit includes printable education materials, scripts for conversations with patients, and digital assets, such as social media posts and website graphics. The toolkit is available online.