Medicaid, CHIP coverage reinstated for nearly 500,000 improperly disenrolled

Nearly 500,000 children and other individuals who were improperly disenrolled from Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program will regain their coverage, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Sept. 21. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last month alerted all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands to a potential eligibility systems issue that inappropriately disenrolls children and families from Medicaid and CHIP, even when the state had information indicating that they remain eligible for coverage. To date, 30 states have reported having this auto-renewal issue and have paused procedural disenrollments for impacted people to avoid CMS taking further action, HHS said.

“We will continue to work with states for as long as needed to help prevent anyone eligible for Medicaid or CHIP coverage from being disenrolled,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.