As the result of a systems issue that caused improper disenrollment, a call to action to states by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in August helped almost 500,000 people reinstate their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance (CHIP) coverage. This action is also expected to protect additional individuals from similar improper disenrollment in the future.
According to the CMS, a systems issue inappropriately disenrolled children and families, even when the state had information indicating that they remained eligible for Medicaid and CHIP coverage. To-date, 30 states reported having this systems issue, with all “required to pause procedural disenrollments for impacted people unless they could ensure all eligible people are not improperly disenrolled due to this issue.”
HHS Secretary, Xavier Becerra, said, “Thanks to swift action by HHS, nearly half a million individuals, including children, will have their coverage reinstated, and many more will be protected going forward. HHS is committed to making sure people have access to affordable, quality health insurance – whether that’s through Medicare, Medicaid, the Marketplace, or their employer. We will continue to work with states for as long as needed to help prevent anyone eligible for Medicaid or CHIP coverage from being disenrolled.”
CMS Administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, added, “Medicaid and CHIP are essential for millions of people and families across the country. Addressing this issue with auto-renewals is a critical step to help eligible people keep their Medicaid and CHIP coverage during the renewals process, especially children. CMS will keep doing everything in our power to help people have the health coverage they need and deserve.”
CMS pointed out that throughout the renewals process, they offered states many strategies to assist them in making it easier for people to renew their coverage. CMS has also launched national marketing campaigns and made available Special Enrollment Periods through HealthCare.gov, State-based Marketplaces, and Medicare.
