Maryland data shows fewer people dropped from Medicaid in June

Gabrielle Lewis, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
Updated ·3 min read

Jul. 12—New data from the Maryland Department of Health show that fewer people were dropped from Medicaid in June than in May.

Automatic Medicaid renewal ended when the federal government declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency.

The department began collecting and releasing data about Medicaid renewals in Maryland beginning in May and is currently promoting a "Medicaid Check-In" campaign to encourage residents to manually renew their coverage.

In June, the state processed over 139,000 renewals compared to about 119,000 renewals in May.

Of the 139,051 renewals processed in June, about 71% were renewed and retained while about 21% were terminated. Others are still being processed.

Of the 119,000 renewals in May, about 64% of applications were renewed, and about 29% were terminated.

Ryan Moran, deputy secretary of health care financing and Medicaid director at MDH, said the department has implemented various strategies to maintain individuals' coverage.

These strategies include enrolling individuals in Medicaid based on their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility and providing a 120-day "reconsideration period" for people dropped for procedural reasons to renew their coverage without having to start a new application.

A list of these strategies and waivers is on the Maryland Medicaid Administration website at tinyurl.com/4thdww47.

Moran acknowledged that while the state's "Check-In" campaign is ongoing, there are still challenges reaching individuals who need their coverage renewed, but don't have access to the internet or phones or a nearby health department.

"That's why it's so critical that we work with our partners across the state — health department, human services, community-based organizations — to ensure that they assist and support navigating those individuals and making them aware that this process is also happening," he said.

Dr. Randy Culpepper, the Frederick County Health Department deputy health officer, said that in addition to the state's "Check-In" campaign, health agencies and health care providers in the county have put up flyers in English and Spanish encouraging residents to update their contact information.

Health care providers can look at patients' electronic health records to redetermine eligibility and let patients know if they have a coverage redetermination date approaching, Culpepper said in a statement.

Even though June had a higher volume of renewals, fewer individuals were dropped for procedural reasons than what was reported in May.

According to the department's data, about 21% of applications were dropped for procedural reasons in May while about 12% were dropped in June.

But the number of people dropped for financial reasons, such as having income over the eligible threshold for Medicaid, went up from May to June. About 2% of applications were dropped for financial reasons in May while almost 5% were dropped in June.

Moran said it's a good sign that the number of those dropped for procedural reasons, such as not completing a renewal application, has gone down — but ultimately, more work can be done to keep cutting the number of people dropped.

"We can say that we're encouraged by that number and also acknowledge that that's still 17,000 individuals that procedurally didn't fill out their paperwork," Moran said. "Moving forward looking at this data, it's so critical to partner with ... [organizations] throughout the state to ensure that we continue to get the word out."