MD Medicaid Unwinding could leave thousands who qualify uninsured

MARYLAND – As Maryland completes its Medicaid unwinding, thousands are losing their access to the program, including those who may still qualify.

Medicaid had been allowing those who qualified during the beginning of the pandemic to continue receiving the program without re-applying, even if their income changed. However, as that program winds down, the state is reassessing the over one million recipients, as well as requiring new applications to continue the service.

According to a report from the Maryland Department of Health, 245,000 people have lost coverage since May as part of the state re-assessment.

While 70% of those who were receiving the dollars still kept their coverage and others were found to have had too high of an income to qualify,
there are estimated to be 93,000 people who qualify who could still lose their coverage.

“There are definitely some people who are falling through the cracks who are still eligible for Medicaid but didn’t realize they had to reenroll or did it wrong, and so the health department is doing everything it can to reach out to those folks,” said MD Healthcare For All Director Vinny DeMarco.

DeMarco tells 47 ABC WMDT that this year, the state is boosting intake into the program by allowing dual enrollment through the SNAP benefits application, as well as reaching out via local health departments to communities.

However, he tells 47 ABC WMDT that his organization is lobbying for the state to pass universal Medicaid auto-enrollment in the state. DeMarco says that would take the administrative burden of applying and verifying income out of the hands of the recipients, and put it into the state to automatically grant Medicaid to those with qualifying income.