The public health emergency (PHE) declared in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic led Medicaid officials to take additional steps to ensure people could afford to get medical care when they needed it. As the PHE’s end approaches, though, tens of thousands of Alabamians will start paying more for critical medical care – or simply be unable to afford it – unless our state lawmakers take action. About 61,000 Alabamians are expected to lose Medicaid coverage by June 2024 during a period known as Medicaid “unwinding,” according to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute. This period, during which the state will return to traditional eligibility rules to determine continued Medicaid coverage, will begin April 1, 2023. Read Alabama Arise’s new blog post on how individuals and state officials can protect health coverage during the unwinding period. These coverage losses and higher health care costs would come during a pandemic that is still ongoing. And they would leave many Alabamians with no realistic option for affordable coverage because our state still has not expanded Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes. Medicaid expansion is the single best step Alabama could take to preserve health coverage and reduce costs for people who cannot afford a private plan and otherwise would be uninsured. In the meantime, state officials should be proactive in communicating with enrollees and facilitating transitions to Marketplace coverage where possible. Read our new blog post for more on how lawmakers can ensure every Alabamian can afford the health care they need to thrive. |
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