UNITED STATES NEWS

Biden administration asks employers to give more help to workers who lose Medicaid

Jul 20, 2023, 11:45 AM

The Biden administration on Thursday asked employers to give workers who lose Medicaid coverage more time to sign up for health insurance through their jobs.

Medicaid is the state- and federally funded program that covers health care costs for people with low incomes. States have resumed checks for Medicaid eligibility this year after pausing the practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal officials have estimated that about 3.8 million people who lose Medicaid coverage may qualify for health insurance through their employers, which is how most people in the U.S. get coverage.

Employers typically give people 60 days to sign up for coverage offered through work after they lose Medicaid. The administration’s letter Thursday asked employers, insurers and plan sponsors to voluntarily extend that window to July 31, 2024.

The letter notes that people on Medicaid may miss notices that their coverage is ending, and they might not realize this until they visit a doctor.

People shopping for individual insurance through the federal, healthcare.gov marketplace have until next summer to land coverage in that situation.

Benefits expert Paul Fronstin said he’s not sure how employers will react to the request. He noted that changing the window may incur some costs and require educating employees.

“I don’t see them extending it a year,” said Fronstin, director of health benefits research at the non-partisan Employee Benefits Research Institute.

He noted that companies generally want their workers to have health insurance because it keeps them healthy and productive.

But many employers offer an annual window, usually every fall, in which employees can sign up for a plan or change coverage. Fronstin said companies may just use that window to enroll people who lost Medicaid coverage and missed the 60-day window.

“Maybe they have to tinker with their message to make sure they get the attention of people who were covered by Medicaid,” he said.

More than 3.5 million people have already been removed from Medicaid across the U.S. since eligibility reviews resumed in April, according to the latest Associated Press analysis of data reported by states.

Most has urged states to redouble outreach efforts.

Thursday’s letter was signed by Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and leaders of the treasury and labor departments.

___

Associated Press reporter David A. Lieb contributed to this report from Jefferson City, Missouri. Murphy reported from Indianapolis.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

United States News

FILE - White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi attends a speech by President Joe Biden about supply c...

Associated Press

Biden rule aims to reduce methane emissions, targeting US oil and gas industry for global warming

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Saturday issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, targeting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry for its role in global warming as President Joe Biden seeks to advance his climate legacy. The Environmental Protection Agency said the new rule will sharply reduce methane and other […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Trump and DeSantis will hold dueling campaign events in Iowa with the caucuses just six weeks away

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis plans on Saturday to complete his campaign promise to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties, a timeworn tactic for presidential candidates hoping to make their mark in the leadoff state over months mingling with voters at the state’s diners, cookouts and Pizza Ranches. But the Florida governor’s moment, […]

7 hours ago

FILE - Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is shown before administering the oath of office t...

Associated Press

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor paved a path for women on the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — One fall day in 2010, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor slipped into the courtroom where she worked for nearly 25 years to take in an “amazing” sight. The first — and for 12 years, the only — woman on the high court saw three women in black robes among the […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

US Navy plans to raise jet plane off Hawaii coral reef using inflatable cylinders

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Navy plans to use inflatable cylinders to lift and roll a jet plane off a coral reef in Hawaii before removal from the ocean waters where the aircraft crashed on Nov. 20. Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 3 who is leading the salvage effort, said […]

9 hours ago

Associated Press

Las Vegas police search for suspect after 5 homeless people are shot, killing 2

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Five homeless people were shot in Las Vegas on Friday, two of them fatally, and police were searching for a lone suspect, authorities said. The shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m. near a freeway overpass in the northeastern part of the city, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Mark Lourenco. […]

9 hours ago

Associated Press

Judge rejects calls to halt winter construction work on Willow oil project in Alaska during appeal

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge in Alaska on Friday rejected requests from environmental groups to halt winter construction work for the massive Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope while the groups’ legal fight over the drilling project wages on. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason just last month upheld the Biden administration’s […]

10 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The 2023 Diamondbacks are a good example to count on the underdog

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the World Series as a surprise. That they made the playoffs at all, got past the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card round, swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and won two road games in Philadelphia to close out a full seven-game NLCS went against every expectation. Now, […]

...

Midwestern University

Midwestern University: innovating Arizona health care education

Midwestern University’s Glendale Campus near Loop 101 and 59th Avenue is an established leader in health care education and one of Arizona’s largest and most valuable health care resources.

...

SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

Biden administration asks employers to give more help to workers who lose Medicaid