Millions Could Soon Lose Medicaid Coverage

Millions of Americans gained health insurance coverage during the pandemic due to new federal legislation — but experts fear progress could be reversed as a key Medicaid provision comes to an end this month.& In 2020, the& Families First Coronavirus Response Act& (FFCRA) was signed into law, requiring states to keep people with Medicaid enrolled in the program during the COVID-19 public health emergency.& Previously, enrollees had to reapply for benefits every 12 months, but under FFCRA, they’re automatically reenrolled. States received additional funding for executing the policy, and uninsured rates hit record lows.& This could change as automatic enrollment expires on March 31, putting 15 million people from low-income households at risk for coverage loss. According to a new& survey& released by the Commonwealth Fund — a private healthcare policy-focused foundation — uninsured rates for Black adults ages 19 to 64 dropped by 2 or more percent in Oregon, North Carolina, Virginia, and several other states between 2019 and 2021.& Overall, the country saw a coverage increase of five million people between 2020 and early 2022 and a historic uninsured rate of 8 percent.  Too many Black and Hispanic adults are still unable to get insurance or the health...