WASHINGTON — The potential end of the COVID-19 public health emergency has reinvigorated debate over the merits and costs of expanding Medicaid.
A provision of a 2020 COVID-19 relief bill required that states keep people continuously enrolled in Medicaid through the end of the month in which the COVID-19 public health emergency ends in exchange for more federal funding.
The provision contributed to a 25 percent enrollment surge during the pandemic, but will end when the public health emergency does, prompting a year-long unwinding during which time the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates between 5 million and 14 million people will lose Medicaid coverage.
