WASHINGTON, D.C., July 28, 2023 — Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its first monthly data report about the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirements put in place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation’s leading patient advocacy organizations released the following statement, urging the Biden administration to take immediate steps to protect patients’ Medicaid coverage:

“Our organizations appreciate the administration’s release of its first monthly Medicaid unwinding data report today. However, meaningful actions are urgently needed to address the unprecedented coverage losses we have seen over the past few months.

“Our organizations are extremely alarmed that nearly 3.8 million people have lost Medicaid coverage over the past few months, likely a significant underestimate given the limited data available. Equally concerning is that the vast majority of people have lost coverage because of administrative issues. Based on the data that the Kaiser Family Foundation has collected, 73% of all people disenrolled had their coverage terminated for procedural reasons. These failures in the administrative process suggest serious problems in many states with notices and renewal forms getting to enrollees, inadequate public education campaigns, insufficient consumer support for individuals trying to renew their coverage and other challenges.

“Greater transparency and additional enforcement actions are needed to protect our patients’ access to care in the Medicaid program. Specifically, our organizations call on the administration to:

  • Release monthly data reports more quickly. States report information to CMS on the 8th of each month and CMS should release data no more than 30 days after that. The information released today is from April and therefore includes only 18 states. Many of our organizations have previously urged CMS to post data within 30 days so that timely action could be taken.
  • Release detailed information about enforcement actions. While CMS released a fact sheet on its monitoring and oversight of states on July 18, stakeholders need to know which states have violated federal requirements and how those violations have been addressed to best support people navigating this process and hold states accountable.
  • Fully utilize the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ enforcement authority as passed by Congress in December. The Secretary must require corrective action plans for states that do not meet federal requirements and suspend terminations for procedural reasons and impose civil monetary penalties if those actions plans are not submitted or implemented. While this process takes some time, that means it is even more important to start it as soon as possible.

“This administration has made significant progress in increasing access to quality and affordable health care coverage over the past three years and unless significant action is taken, the unwinding process will undermine that progress. We urge the administration to improve the transparency of this process and take immediate action to protect health care coverage for millions of patients.”

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ALS Association

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

American Heart Association

American Kidney Fund

American Lung Association

Arthritis Foundation

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

Cancer Support Community

CancerCare

Child Neurology Foundation

Chronic Disease Coalition

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Epilepsy Foundation

Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research

Hemophilia Federation of America

Immune Deficiency Foundation

Lupus Foundation of America

Lutheran Services in America

March of Dimes

Muscular Dystrophy Association

National Alliance on Mental Illness

National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

National Eczema Association

National Health Council

National Hemophilia Foundation

National Kidney Foundation

National Multiple Sclerosis Society

National Organization for Rare Disorders

National Patient Advocate Foundation

National Psoriasis Foundation

Pulmonary Hypertension Association

Susan G. Komen

The AIDS Institute

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

 

For Media Inquiries: Arielle Beer: 202-785-7902; arielle.beer@heart.org

For Public Inquiries: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721) heart.org and stroke.org