issue pre-emptively be requiring states to develop plans for how they will prioritise outstanding eligibility and renewal actions when the PHE is lifted. However, just over half were found to have done so as of March 2022. It remains to be seen how far states’ updated enrollment and renewal processes, extensively streamlined throughout the pandemic, will mitigate the impact of the protections coming to an end. Until then, elder law attorneys will need to remain abreast of their clients’ Medicaid eligibility and ensure that their needs are met when the time comes. Whenever the PHE is concluded, a vast number will be set to lose their coverage – predicted by the Kaiser Family Foundation to range between 5.3 million and 14.2 million. There will assuredly be millions of elderly among the disenrolled, as well as other vulnerable people whose health may be put at risk. There will also be a staggering administrative task to be undertaken by Medicaid providers as millions of enrollees’ continued eligibility as assessed, likely exacerbated by churn as many whose coverage is terminated then quickly re-enroll. CMS as taken steps to address the Lifting of the Continuous Enrollment Requirement Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), in order to receive enhanced federal funding, states have been required to provide continuous coverage for Medicaid enrollees until the end of the month inwhich theUS is no longer in a public health emergency (PHE). As the Biden Administration has recently extended the PHE until at least mid-July, with the potential further 90-day extensions remaining, it can only be speculated as to whether the continuous coverage mandate will remain in effect for the remainder of 2022 and into 2023. When the period ends, there will be several knock-on effects. Continuous coverage has helped to preserve coverage for millions of people; it is projected that 22.2 million new people will have enrolled in Medicaid between the end of the 2019 and 2022 fiscal years and remained within the system, owed in large part to these provisions. Not all of these enrollees will remain eligible when the provisions end. 33 JUN 2022 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM it is projected that 22.2million newpeoplewill have enrolled in Medicaid between the end of the 2019 and 2022 fiscal years.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk3Mzkz