860k fewer kids enrolled in Medicaid in 2018, national study finds

An estimated 861,000 fewer children were covered by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program in 2018 compared with the year before, according to a new national study (Source: “Medicaid, CHIP enrollment for kids dropped by 861,000 in 2018,” Modern Healthcare, April 25, 2019).

The analysis by Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families, drawing on new CMS data, found that total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment totaled 72.4 million in January 2019, down about 2.2 million from January 2018, according to the CMS data.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma tweeted that her agency's preliminary analysis suggests the improving U.S. economy is a factor in the enrollment declines in Medicaid and CHIP.

But many Medicaid experts say gains in employment and job-based health coverage are not the main drivers of the enrollment reductions. They attribute the declines to onerous state eligibility redetermination processes and cuts in funding for enrollment education and outreach.