Utah Survey Shows Why So Many People Were Dumped From Medicaid

It’s one of the biggest mysteries in health policy: What happened to millions of Americans kicked out of Medicaid last year? , obtained by KFF Health News, holds some clues. The Health 202 is a coproduction of The Washington Post and KFF Health News. Like many states, Utah terminated Medicaid coverage for a large share of enrollees whose eligibility was reevaluated in 2023, following a three year pause during the coronavirus pandemic.

And like most states, an overwhelming share of those disenrollments were made for procedural reasons, such as missing paperwork. More than people were in 2023, according to KFF, and just over of disenrollments were for procedural reasons. It’s been unclear what led to those procedural terminations in Utah and other states.

But the Utah survey of more than 1,000 disenrolled Medicaid beneficiaries, conducted in October, The good news is that many of them found insurance elsewhere — through an employer, and through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, according to the survey. said they never received renewal documents from the Utah Medicaid enrollment agency, the .

said they didn’t get around to the paperwork, said it was too difficult, and said they didn’t have the necessary documents to prove their eligibility. The survey found that many disenrolled people who asked why had trouble getting questions answered by the state Medicaid agency. While polled said they were able to resolve their issue the same day or the next day, waited over two weeks and said their question or complaint was never resolved.

Just a quarter found it to be easy. The online survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. Medicaid beneficiaries typically must have their eligibility reviewed every year to renew their coverage. But in March 2020, after the pandemic hit, the federal government froze eligibility checks as part of the public health emergency.

That kept anyone from being dropped. Since the spring, when Congress ended the emergency, states have begun once again reviewing eligibility for Medicaid beneficiaries — and terminating coverage for millions. Utah has dropped about 150,000 of about 500,000 Medicaid beneficiaries since April. , a Medicaid enrollee and consumer advocate on Utah’s Medicaid advisory board, said the state’s survey results point to serious shortcomings in Utah’s unwinding.

she said when asked why more than half of those dropped made no effort to renew their coverage. Many Medicaid enrollees, she said, didn’t know they had to reapply. “A lot of people thought it was like the federal stimulus checks and was just a one time benefit,” she said. , Utah’s Medicaid director, said the state is using feedback from the survey to improve its consumer engagement.

It’s renewing more beneficiaries using databases to verify their income and residency, she said, and is assisting with enrollment at laundromats and Department of Motor Vehicles offices. The state’s strong economy and low unemployment rate may help explain the high percentage of people terminated from Medicaid, she said.

And about who were disenrolled are returning to the program, said , deputy director of the . ,.