Millions could lose coverage when COVID public health emergency ends

Background: Congress in 2020 included measures in pandemic relief legislation that increased the share of federal Medicaid spending if states offered continuous coverage to enrollees, suspending the program's usual churn.

The extra allowances sunset with the end of the public health emergency, which is due to expire July 15 unless the Biden administration extends it again.

Go deeper: Kaiser examined scenarios for how states can determine whether their Medicaid enrollees are still eligible for coverage when policy changes hit the safety net program.

• The biggest losses are expected to be among adults who gained coverage through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, other adults eligible for reasons other than a disability, as well as children.
• Medicaid enrollment is expected to grow 25%, or by 22.2 million people, from fiscal 2019 through 2022, mostly because of the pandemic-driven allowances, the researchers project.