Millions at risk of losing health insurance amid ‘Medicaid unwinding’

April 12, 2023—A pandemic-era mandate preventing states from terminating Americans’ Medicaid coverage is winding down, putting millions at risk of becoming uninsured. As states begin to reverify their Medicaid rolls, recipients should be prepared to prove their continued eligibility or to find a new health insurer—a task that puts millions at risk of losing coverage unnecessarily, experts say.

In a March 31 article in the New York Times, health policy experts warned of the inequitable consequences of “Medicaid unwinding,” plus offered tips for Americans directly affected. Among the experts quoted was Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Jose Figueroa, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management.

“There’s 92 million people in our country that need to fill out paperwork all at once, in a very confined amount of time,” Figueroa said. “We’re worried that many people, when they go try to schedule an appointment with their doctor, somebody’s going to tell them, ‘Oh, you don’t have insurance anymore.’”

Figueroa and other experts advised those enrolled in Medicaid to prepare for—and persevere through—the administrative challenges that often accompany renewing coverage or finding a new source of coverage.

“Everyone who’s on Medicaid today: Expect to fill out paperwork,” he said.

Read the New York Times article: Millions of Americans May Soon Lose Medicaid Coverage. Here’s How to Prepare.