MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Medicaid enrollment in Alabama dropped by nearly 10,000 between February and March of this year, according to the latest monthly report from the Alabama Medicaid Agency.
In total, 195,568 Alabamians have lost Medicaid coverage since June 2023, the program’s peak enrollment before the agency began purging its rolls after the expiration of federal COVID-related protections, often called cancellation process.
On average, more than 20,000 Alabamians have been removed from Medicaid each month since June, making the drop of nearly 10,000 enrollments in March the lowest monthly purge since the disconnection began last summer, signaling the end of the disconnection process in the state.
At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, federal rules prohibited Medicaid beneficiaries from being removed from the low-income health care program, regardless of changes in their income or employment that would otherwise have caused the beneficiaries to be ineligible. eligible.
Once those federal protections expired in the spring of 2023, states across the country began removing from their Medicaid rolls those who were no longer eligible due to their employment and income status. This has led to more than 22.3 million Americans no longer having Medicaid coverage in May.
Of the 9,869 Alabamians who lost Medicaid coverage between February and March, 7,073 were men and 2,147 were women, a reversal of trends in recent months given that nearly 60% of Medicaid recipients in Alabama are women.
Most of those who lost Medicaid coverage between February and March were white, accounting for 5,455 of the 9,869 kicked out of Medicaid. Black beneficiaries represented 22.6% of those who lost coverage in March, and Hispanics, 0.08%.
However, Black Alabamians represent a disproportionate number of those enrolled in the program relative to their population in the state, making up 37.7% of Medicaid recipients in February, despite representing 28% of the population of the state.
The AMA does not reveal why beneficiaries were removed from Medicaid. While a significant amount may be due to beneficiaries no longer eligible for the program, a considerable portion may also be due to procedural reasons, including failure to submit appropriate documentation.
Alabama remains one of ten states in the country that has not expanded its Medicaid program to cover those who make up to 138% of the federal poverty level, a threshold that would entitle the state to receive significant federal funding under the Act. of Affordable Care of 2010.
While Alabama Democratic lawmakers have long advocated for Medicaid expansion, Republican state lawmakers, who have historically opposed Medicaid expansion over cost concerns, recently expressed openness to the idea after attending a briefing on Medicaid expansion with lawmakers from South Carolina and Arkansas in April. .
Expanding Medicaid in Alabama would make nearly 300,000 Alabamians eligible for the program, expanding coverage to those earning up to $20,783 a year.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.