What is Medicaid Unwinding?
At the start of the pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which included a requirement that Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through the end of the month in which the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends, in exchange for enhanced federal funding. Primarily due to the continuous enrollment provision, Medicaid enrollment has grown substantially compared to before the pandemic and the uninsured rate has dropped. But, when the continuous enrollment provision ends, millions of people could lose coverage that could reverse recent gains in coverage. As part of an end-of-the-year spending bill, Congress signed into lawthe Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) on December 29, 2022, that set an end to the continuous enrollment provision on March 31, 2023, and separates the continuous coverage provision from the COVID-19 public health emergency. The CCA provides for a phase down of the enhanced federal Medicaid matching funds through December 2023. States that accept the enhanced federal funding can resume disenrollments beginning in April but must meet certain reporting and other requirements during the unwinding process.
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