State data shows almost 36,000 Hoosiers were unenrolled from Medicaid in the June 2023 reporting period. That is a significant decrease from both April and May, where disenrollment numbers were over 50,000.
Of the 35,595 Hoosiers unenrolled this reporting period, 30,751 Hoosiers were dropped for procedural reasons. The state also shared that 10,440 of those Hoosiers were also either over income, had moved out of the state or had died.
Another more than 4,844 Hoosiers were determined ineligible and moved to marketplace insurance.
These reports follow the end of the federal public health emergency. During that emergency, some Medicaid programs, including traditional Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), temporarily suspended traditional rules that required updated paperwork and documentation to remain eligible for coverage.
The emergency ended on April 1, beginning an unwinding periodfor the state to unenroll ineligible Hoosiers over the course of the next 12 months.
As of June 2023, 142,264 Hoosiers were disenrolled from Medicaid, with 121,754 disenrolled for “procedural reasons” and 20,510 Hoosiers determined ineligible. Procedural reasons for disenrollment could include not responding to state contact or not having updated paperwork and information.
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Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a health policy research nonprofit, calls these high numbers of procedural disenrollment “concerning,” as people could still be eligible for Medicaid under these circumstances.
Advocacy groups have expressed concerns about this process – as the first few months of the unwinding have seen high numbers of disenrollments.
Indiana Family and Social Services Administration spokesperson Michelle Holtkamp has previously encouraged Hoosiers to keep up-to-date with state contact and to update income information and other paperwork.
The unwinding period will continue and Hoosiers will be unenrolled until May 2024.
Violet is our daily news reporter. Contact her at vcomberwilen@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @ComberWilen.
