How Medicaid unwinding could impact radiology practices

Sandy Coffta.During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, states were required to maintain enrollment of nearly all Medicaid enrollees as a condition of receiving a temporary 6.2 percentage point Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increase under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). There was significant growth of national Medicaid enrollment figures due to this continuous Medicaid enrollment requirement, coupled with additional incentives for states to implement Medicaid expansion. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the combination of Medicaid and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) enrollment has increased by over 23 million people between February 2020 and March 2023. However, when that continuous enrollment condition ended on March 31, 2023, Medicaid enrollment numbers started to decline. States had to resume normal operations, including restarting full Medicaid eligibility renewals and terminations of coverage for individuals who are no longer eligible. The full process could take up to a year, with the earliest removals from coverage having begun in April 2023.Loss of Medicaid coverageOnce the unwinding began, it became clear to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that some states were improperly denying coverage to some individuals. By July 19, at least 3 million people had been disenrolled from Medicaid, 74% of which were due to procedural errors rather than being determined ineligible for the program.Ac...

Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - October 19, 2023 Category: Radiology Authors: Sandy Coffta Tags: Practice Management Administration Source Type: news