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Report Shows Record Medicaid Enrollment and
Highlights the Program’s Importance in Preserving Coverage for Millions of
Children and Adults Throughout the United States
The Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new Enrollment Trends
Snapshot report today showing a record high, over 80 million individuals
have health coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIP). Nearly 9.9 million individuals, a 13.9% increase,
enrolled in coverage between February 2020, the month before the public
health emergency (PHE) was declared, and January 2021.
Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, a total of
80,543,351 people were enrolled and receiving full benefits from the
Medicaid and CHIP programs by the end of January 2021. In the 50 states
that reported total Medicaid child and CHIP enrollment data for January
2021, over 38.3 million children were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP
combined, approximately 50% of the total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment.
These numbers highlight the essential role the Medicaid and CHIP programs
play in providing quality and needed coverage for millions of vulnerable
children and adults. In fact, both programs serve as the largest single
source of health coverage in the country.
“The Biden-Harris administration is using every lever to ensure
any American needing access to quality health coverage receives it. Now
more than ever, people need the peace of mind of knowing that they have
health coverage,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “This report reminds
us what a critical program and rock Medicaid continues to be in giving tens
of millions of children and adults access to care. This pandemic taught us
that now more than ever, we must work to strengthen Medicaid and make it
available whenever and wherever it’s needed using the unprecedented
investments Congress provided.”
The increase in total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment is largely
attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 PHE, in particular, enactment of
section 6008 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). FFCRA
provides states with a temporary 6.2% payment increase in Federal Medical
Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding. States qualify for this
enhanced funding by adhering to the Maintenance of Effort requirement,
which ensures eligible people enrolled in Medicaid stay enrolled and
covered during the PHE.
"Medicaid and CHIP serve as a much-needed lifeline for
millions of people throughout this country. The increase we are seeing is
exactly how Medicaid works: the program steps in to support people and
their families when times are tough,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita
Brooks-LaSure. “For the parents that may have lost a job or had another
life change during the pandemic, having access to coverage for themselves
and their kids is life-changing. CMS is committed to ensuring our nation’s
marginalized communities and low-income families have the coverage they
need.”
To assist states and territories in their response to the
COVID-19 PHE, CMS developed numerous strategies to support Medicaid and
CHIP programs in times of crisis, including granting states more
flexibility in their Medicaid and CHIP operations. Today’s data release
also reflects a range of indicators related to key application,
eligibility, and enrollment processes from within state Medicaid and CHIP
agencies.
The Snapshot is a product of the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid CHIP Services (CMCS) Medicaid and CHIP Coverage Learning
Collaborative (MACLC), which monitors Medicaid and CHIP enrollment trends,
primarily using the CMS Performance Indicator (PI) data reported to CMS by
state Medicaid and CHIP agencies. PI data reflects key Medicaid and CHIP
business processes- including applications, renewals, eligibility
determinations, and enrollment.
The Enrollment Trends Snapshot, which is released monthly, is
available here: https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/program-information/medicaid-chip-enrollment-data/medicaid-and-chip-enrollment-trend-snapshot/index.html
The complete dataset, including
data from January 2021, is available on data.Medicaid.gov.
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