Congress Approves Removing Millions of Americans From Medicaid In 2023

The U.S. Congress has approved of a bill that intends to remove millions of Americans from the Medicaid program in 2023. Reportedly, 1 out of 5 people will lose the benefit next year, says Ivanova.

Americans on Losing Medicaid Program

The U.S. Congress approved of a huge spending bill that allowed several states to remove their residents from the Medicaid program. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, around 15 to 18 million— or 1 out of 5 Americans will be removed from the Medicaid program starting on April 1, 2023. The federal government will also reduce the budget given to state governments for new beneficiaries to come in 2023.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has suggested that state governments must spend a whole year to re-assess all members of the program. Although several members can still find other health insurance programs like the Affordable Care Act or the Children’s Health Insurance for kids, around 5 million Americans will have no insurance.  

Before any state can remove Medicaid members, they are obliged to look over a patient’s eligibility and inform them that they will be removed from the program. According to the foundation’s associate director on Medicaid Jennifer Tolbert, being removed from Medicaid is not uncommon. Eligible members normally get removed from the program because of administrative errors or language barriers.

How Medicaid Works

According to Ivanova, several Americans apply for Medicaid, but many also get removed as their lifestyles change. State governments assess Medicaid members on a routine to guarantee that they still qualify for the program. However, ever since the pandemic started, applications for Medicaid have increased from 71 million to 90 million. When the government first declared a public health emergency, the declaration prevented state governments from removing people from Medicaid.