Enrollment

On March 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of December 2023, over 66.8 million people are enrolled in Medicare; more than 34.2 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare, and over 32.6 million are enrolled in Medicare Advantage or other health plans. Over 85 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP. More than 77.9 million individuals have Medicaid, and over 7.1 million have coverage through CHIP. Over 12 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs.

Starting on Thursday, March 28, CMS is extending a temporary special enrollment period (SEP) to help people who are no longer eligible for Medicaid or CHIP transition to Marketplace coverage in states using HealthCare.gov. The end date of this “Unwinding SEP” will be extended from Wednesday, July 31, 2024, to Saturday, November 30, 2024. This will help more people leaving Medicaid or CHIP secure affordable, comprehensive coverage through the start of the next open enrollment period. This extension will be crucial to ensuring people remain covered, including in states that have given people additional time to renew their coverage, as CMS has recommended, to help eligible people stay enrolled.

On Monday, July 31, CMS released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of April 2023, over 65.8 million people are enrolled in Medicare; more than 33.9 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and more than 31.9 have a Medicare Advantage plan. Over 94.1 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP; more than 87 million individuals have Medicaid and nearly 7.1 million have coverage through CHIP. Over 12 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs...

KFF’s brief, “Key Facts About Medicare Part D Enrollment and Costs in 2023”, analyzes enrollment and costs for the Medicare Part D benefit in 2023 and trends. Medicare Part D provides outpatient prescription drug coverage through a standalone Medicare Part D plan (PDP) to supplement Original or Traditional Medicare, or through a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan (MA-PD) or other Medicare Health Plan with drug coverage. The analysis notes that in 2023 over half of those with Medicare Part D coverage are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan with a Part D benefit. Enrollment in the MA-PD plans continues to outpace enrollment in PDPs. MA-PD enrollment grew by 47% between 2019 and 2023 while PDP enrollment fell by 12%.

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released an updated version of their "Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker" on July 20th. This tracker provides state-level data on Medicaid/CHIP enrollment, unwinding, renewals, and other measures. Please note that while the tool includes national data reported by CMS, it has a lag of several months and may not reflect the most current Medicaid enrollment status.

On Tuesday, June 29, CMS released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of March 2023, over 65.7 million people are enrolled in Medicare; nearly 34 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and more than 31.7 have a Medicare Advantage plan. Over 93.8 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP; more than 86.7 million individuals have Medicaid and more than 7.1 million have coverage through CHIP. Over 12 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs.

On Tuesday, May 30, CMS released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of February 2023, over 65.6 million people are enrolled in Medicare; nearly 34 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and more than 31.6 have a Medicare Advantage plan. Over 93.3 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP; more than 86.1 million individuals have Medicaid and nearly 7.2 million have coverage through CHIP. Over 12 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs.

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) has released a brief that gauges Medicaid enrollee’s knowledge of and preparedness for the Medicaid renewal process and possible disenrollment from the Medicaid program. The findings are based on a survey of health insurance consumers fielded between February 21, 2023, and March 14, 2023. Key findings indicate that most Medicaid enrollees were not aware that states are now permitted to resume disenrolling people from the Medicaid program, and nearly half of the Medicaid enrollees indicated they have not been through a renewal process, including two-thirds of older adults. The brief also notes that fewer older adults indicate they have provided updated contact information to their state Medicaid agency.

On May 12, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a 15-page FAQ document for State Medicaid agencies on the end of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition. The FAQ document provides additional information and clarification on the Medicaid redetermination and unwinding process. The FAQ includes guidance in the following areas: Returned mail condition, which was added by the CAA, 2023 into Section 6008(f)(2)(c) of the FFCRA and established a new condition for receiving the FFCRA temporary FMAP increase. Medicaid and CHIP resumption of premiums, and the modifications of the condition found in the CAA, 2023, and described in SHO#23-002. Renewals for individuals receiving SSI in Section 1634 States....

On Wednesday, March 15, 2023, MACPAC released it's March 2023 Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP. The report recommends a series of measures aimed at improving the collection of race and ethnicity data, increasing transparency in nursing facility payment data, and giving states greater flexibility in following Medicare drug coverage decisions. It also includers MACPAC's annual, statutorily required report examining payment policy for safety net hospitals.