Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Deep into the grimmest months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicaid officials devised a stopgap plan that proved to be one of the federal government’s most consequential decisions. To slow the spread of the deadly and contagious disease and ease up on paperwork during the public-health emergency, the feds ordered states to maintain coverage for Medicaid recipients. As a result, Medicaid rolls grew by over 23 million beneficiaries during this period, swelling to around 95 million Americans. But in March 2023, with the virus more or less contained, Medicaid eliminated this ‘continuous enrollment’ provision. States could manage their Medicaid rolls any way they saw fit. And the results of this experiment were revealing. Net Medicaid enrollment across the country has fallen by 14.1 million since last March, compromising the health of millions of very poor people.” (10/07/24)