Medicaid Unwinding: Some Alabamians set to lose healthcare coverage
ALABAMA (WHNT) — For the past several years, those receiving Medicaid have been a part of a continuous enrollment period established during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Alabama Medicaid benefits are currently undergoing an unwinding process, meaning some people will lose their coverage.
“We know that some people are just not going to meet the criteria,” Senior Health Policy Advocate Jennifer Harris said. “The eligibility criteria for Alabama Medicaid is one of the lowest in the nation.”
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Harris, who works with workforce advocacy group Alabama Arise, said you need to make sure you are keeping an eye out for any document requests from Medicaid officials. Current recipients will be required to file new information, a process that has been waived over the past several years.
“There are other groups affected much harder when this happens such as the unhoused population, children of immigrant parents,” Harris said. “There may not be an understanding that children who are eligible for coverage can have coverage. There may even be language barriers there when making those determinations.”
From 2019 to 2021, the number of Alabamians who qualified for Medicaid on a monthly basis jumped by more than 130,000 people. According to Harris, we will likely see eligibility numbers drop back down to pre-pandemic levels before the end of May.
She says the unwinding process will create a coverage gap for some people living in Alabama.
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“Insurance premiums are not as affordable for them because of their lower wages, and because we haven’t expanded Medicaid, those subsidies aren’t there and available for them to use,” Harris said. “An insurance policy on the marketplace may cost more for someone at a lower income than it might cost for someone at a middle income due to our lack of expanded Medicaid.”
If you believe your healthcare access may be impacted by the Medicaid unwinding process, you can talk to someone today. Enroll Alabama, a federally-funded group that helps people navigate the healthcare marketplace, can speak with you over the phone or in person.
Alabama Arise has put together an online toolkit that answers frequently asked questions and provides information about how to appeal a failed eligibility determination.
The Alabama Hospital Association is currently working to close the healthcare coverage gap through a public-private partnership with an insurance company. State officials are set to hear a proposal from the organization next week.
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