Unwinding Medicaid Coverage: How Connecticut is Helping Residents Maintain Insurance

As the public health emergency ends, states can now resume regular renewal processes for Medicaid, resulting in an estimated 18 million individuals losing Medicaid coverage because they no longer meet eligibility requirements or fail to complete the redetermination process.^[0] The National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) surveyed members, with 58% planning to begin their unwinding process in April 2023, 23% in March 2023, and 16% in February 2023.^[0]

In Connecticut, the Department of Social Services (DSS) anticipates having to process around 45,179 households per month, a 70% increase over the volume of renewals the agency did last year.^[1] To help ease the process, the DSS has improved the passive renewal process, which allows people to keep their coverage without taking any action.^[1]

However, even if most people can use the passive renewal process, around 13,000 households per month will still need to manually renew their Medicaid coverage through Access Health CT.^[1] This can be a time consuming process, as completing a single renewal can take between one and two hours.^[1]

For those who no longer qualify for Medicaid, there are still options for low- and no-cost health insurance through the state.^[2] Many people can turn to the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace for coverage, where they may find health care coverage options that cost less than $10 a month. Additionally, about 51% of people on HUSKY A who no longer qualify will still get another year of HUSKY coverage through a program called Transitional Medical Assistance.^[3]

To help those unenrolled from Medicaid, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is opening a special enrollment period from March 31 through July 31 for those losing Medicaid or CHIP coverage due to the end of the continuous enrollment requirement.^[4] People who lose Medicaid coverage will have up to 60 days to enroll after losing coverage.^[2]

0. “The “Unwinding” of the Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Condition: 3 Things to Know” Psychiatric Times, 21 Feb. 2023, https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/the-unwinding-of-the-medicaid-continuous-enrollment-condition-3-things-to-know

1. “Medicaid is ‘unwinding' in CT. Here's what that might mean for many thousands of state residents.” Hartford Courant, 22 Feb. 2023, https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-medicaid-connecticut-numbers-20230222-bjfwnxi2ozbazkcbyj5adse4ya-story.html

2. “Millions who rely on Medicaid may be booted from program” Toledo Blade, 26 Feb. 2023, https://www.toledoblade.com/news/medical/2023/02/26/millions-medicaid-booted/stories/20230226125

3. “HUSKY insurance is ‘unwinding' in CT. Here's what to know” The Connecticut Mirror, 21 Feb. 2023, https://ctmirror.org/2023/02/21/ct-medicaid-husky-insurance-coverage-unwinding

4. “Most adults unaware of Medicaid eligibility redeterminations” Healthcare Finance News, 20 Feb. 2023, https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/most-adults-unaware-medicaid-eligibility-redeterminations