State Policy and IT System Strategies to Prepare for the Unwinding of the Public Health Emergency

Currently, states are maintaining continuous enrollment of all Medicaid enrollees as a condition of receiving enhanced federal funding under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Many states have also paused renewals and un-enrollments for their Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees. Both actions aim to ensure continuity of coverage and access to health care services for low-income people during the pandemic.

States’ authority to maintain continuous coverage for Medicaid/CHIP enrollees is currently slated to expire at the end of December 2021, when the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends. At the end of the PHE, whether in December or some future date, eligible Medicaid/CHIP enrollees will face unprecedented challenges maintaining their coverage. States will likely need to plan for and implement strategies, such as updating consumer contact information, to retain the coverage gains of the last two years.