Ohio‘s population of residents who receive public healthcare insurance is down by over 500,000 people compared with two years earlier. This decrease is due primarily to the repeal of COVID protections for healthcare coverage.
KFF is a research group that focuses on health policies. According to their data, Ohio’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program participation dropped between March 2023 to October 2024 from more than 3.4 to less than 2.9.
The importance of this for Ohio families
After the national “unwinding”, or end to the public health crisis, Ohio Medicaid and CHIP participation declined by approximately 16%. This is similar to the decreases seen across the United States. Although Ohio Medicaid participation and CHIP remains higher than before the pandemic, this drop in recent months is worrying. According to studies, many Ohioans lost their healthcare coverage because of procedural problems rather than ineligibility.
Ohio Medicaid Unwinding: Key Facts
Families First Coronavirus Response Act had a provision that allowed “continuous enrolling” from February 2020 until March 2023. It prevented state Medicaid eligibility reviews from being conducted regularly. Ohio Medicaid and CHIP recipients could therefore maintain coverage, without having to undergo the normal eligibility review.
This provision led to a substantial increase in Ohio Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, growing from nearly 2.6 million to over 3.4 million – a 32% increase by the time the provision ended. The trend was consistent with national trends.
Research indicates that while some of the Ohioans who lost coverage under these programs may have been no longer eligible for coverage, many others lost coverage because they were unable to comply with administrative requirements.
KFF survey results revealed that Ohio Medicaid recipients were not aware of the consequences of the process of unwinding. The survey asked if the state automatically removed them from Medicaid coverage, and if so, what steps they needed to take in order to keep their Medicaid benefits.
KFF has highlighted “procedural enrolments” as a problem in Ohio. This is when eligible people lose coverage because of administrative errors. This included delayed Medicaid renewal notifications or issues with Medicaid renewal form processing.
Late in 2023, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) wrote to Ohio and other eight states about their concern over the high disenrollment rates of children from Medicaid and CHIP.
The HHS conducted an audit to determine if Ohio was incorrectly renewing or terminating coverage of approximately 6% Medicaid beneficiaries.
Experts’ Opinions about Ohio Medicaid Enrollment Reforms
It is important to note that the word “you” means “you”. HHS Office of Inspector General Audit of Ohio’s Unwinding Process Finalized in 2024Ohio completed Medicaid eligibility measures during the dewinding period according to federal and state requirements.
Ohio Medicaid and CHIP: Looking ahead
KFF states that as a result of increased enrollments during the height pandemic, 11% more Ohioans currently have Medicaid or CHIP coverage compared with February 2020.