Did Medicaid enrollment rise during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Yes
Recessions in the U.S. mean not only loss of jobs but also loss of employer-sponsored health insurance. Enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP, which provide health coverage to low-income and disabled adults and children, rose 15.5% in the wake of pandemic-related job losses, reaching 82.3 million enrollees by April 2021.
Although the federal government matches a certain percentage of states’ Medicaid spending, this percentage, known as Federal Medical Assistance Percentages, does not account for differing levels of unemployment between states. Instead, the formula is set inversely to states’ per capita income, ranging from 50% in 13 states to 77% in Mississippi. In the pandemic economy, states with higher unemployment rates will likely face a larger financial burden in paying for healthcare for low-income Americans.
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