States are anticipating that the federal government will end the COVID-19 public health emergency sometime in 2022, which would require them to potentially unenroll upwards of 15 million people from Medicaid programs, according to Politico.
State healthcare leaders told Politico that while the Biden administration is giving them a year to review eligibility, the uncertainty of an end to expanded eligibility through the public health emergency means there is no set date to begin.
That means state programs are bracing for what Politico calls "biggest shift in the health insurance landscape" since the ACA was passed but without a clear deadline. Of the anticipated 15 million people who will be newly ineligible for coverage, 6 million will be children.
"Just not knowing how much longer this will be in place is creating significant challenges," Jennifer Tolbert, Kaiser Family Foundation director of state health reform, told Politico. "The pressures are heightened and the uncertainty is even greater."
Leaders are looking to Congress for more clarity, as well as additional resources to review enrollment eligibility quickly when the time comes. This would allow for programs to hire and train additional staff.