Medicaid Insurers See Growth as More Enrollees Stay on Program

Efforts by federal lawmakers and states to reduce the number of people being kicked off Medicaid during the Covid-19 pandemic are playing a big role in the program’s surge in enrollment, insurers say.

Insurers like Anthem Inc. that operate Medicaid managed care plans point to a provision in the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act, enacted in March, that requires states to keep beneficiaries on the rolls during the public health emergency.

States periodically re-verify the eligibility of adult beneficiaries, which can lead to people losing coverage because of paperwork problems or short-term changes in income. Most states do this annually, ...