03.27.2024 / Statement

Streamlining Medicaid and CHIP enrollment ensures more families stay connected to coverage

Yael Lehmann, Interim Executive Director of Families USA, issued the following statement on the final rule unveiled today: Streamlining the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Basic Health Program Application, Eligibility Determination, Enrollment, and Renewal Processes. The rule will protect and improve the ways in which millions of eligible people apply for, renew, and maintain health care coverage.

“A week after we celebrated the14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Biden-Harris Administration continues their work to improve health care access and affordability by building on the ACA’s coverage protections to ensure millions of Americans can get and keep their coverage.

“The Medicaid unwinding showed us that state enrollment policies can be both a blessing and a curse. Fortunately, this new rule will reduce red tape and roadblocks so families – especially those in under-resourced communities – have the peace of mind that they won’t lose their lifesaving health coverage.

“Several changes included in the rule will help improve health equity and eliminate disparities: Stopping states from conducting coverage renewals more frequently than every 12 months, ending the requirement of an in-person interview for older adults and those with disabilities who wish to access coverage, and improving enrollment transfers for children who need to move from Medicaid to CHIP coverage when their family’s income rises.

“But we can and should go further to boost health care access and affordability for people who rely on Medicaid for their health care. The Biden-Harris Administration and Congress should build on these critical improvements by enacting continuous 12-months eligibility for adults in Medicaid, and by establishing an “ex parte floor” – a minimum level of auto-renewals that a given state must conduct using existing data sources without putting the burden on eligible people to once again prove their eligibility.”