President Joe Biden has expanded Medicaid coverage in five states, allowing children to continue qualifying for health insurance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today.
For several years surrounding COVID-19, Medicaid recipients were provided with continuity of coverage to ensure they had access to care during the pandemic. During this period, Americans did not have to reapply or prove they met certain income qualifications.
The Medicaid rollback process began in April 2023, as states ended continuous enrollment and millions of people began being kicked off Medicaid due to eligibility and red tape issues.
The Biden administration is now authorizing Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania to provide children with additional annual continuing eligibility beyond the minimum 12 months required by law.
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Continuing eligibility is also available to people recently released from incarceration in Colorado and Pennsylvania.
“Through the Biden-Harris Administration, HHS [the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] is working to help more Americans secure and maintain health insurance. It is critical that Americans, especially children, be able to see a doctor when they need it, without losing coverage or needlessly interrupting it,” Health Department Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
“Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris Administration implemented 12 months of continued coverage for children across the country. Today, we are partnering with five states to expand coverage protections and keep families healthy. We are proud to be able to provide you with the peace of mind you need.”
Continuous eligibility ensures that people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) have continued access to health care regardless of changes in circumstances that may have previously made them ineligible. will be done.
Colorado provides continued eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP for children until age 3, and 12 months of continued eligibility for ages 19 to 64 when leaving incarceration.
In Hawaii, continued eligibility is extended for children until they turn 6 years old, and for residents between the ages of 6 and 19, it is extended by 24 months.
Minnesotans also get continued coverage for children until they turn 6 years old, and 12 months of coverage for young adults between the ages of 19 and 21.
Children living in New York are eligible for continued eligibility until age 6. Pennsylvania follows similar rules, allowing 12 months of continued eligibility for residents between the ages of 19 and 64 who have completed incarceration and meet certain high-risk criteria.
“Research shows that medical assistance is often a marathon, not a sprint, especially for people with ongoing health conditions,” said Alex Bean, a financial literacy lecturer at the University of Tennessee at Martin. There is,” he said. Newsweek.
“This allocation for continuity of insurance coverage allows these groups to receive one-time assistance through Medicaid coverage. For other states, allowing similar treatment to incarcerated individuals would The transition process from prisons and prisons becomes more sustainable for long-term growth.”
Medicaid coverage for children is associated not only with higher education attainment and income as adults, but also with more favorable overall health outcomes.
Biden previously announced adding exceptions to the “four walls” requirement for Medicaid clinic services (suspending reimbursement if the patient or clinician is not physically present for outpatient behavioral telehealth services) and The proposal was to strengthen postpartum compensation for mothers.
“President Biden and I are committed to addressing the maternal and child health crisis in which women across America, especially Black women, Indigenous women, and rural women, die at higher rates before, during, and after childbirth than any other developed nation. We are committed to doing so,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement this year.
“That's why I called on states to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage from two months to 12 months, and 46 states took action. That's why we launched the White House's blueprint to address “improving maternal care.'' ”
