Michigan Removes 700,000 People From Health Care Plan – Newsweek

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Hugh Cameron is Newsweek Live News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on international politics, conflict, and crime. Hugh joined Newsweek in 2024, having worked at Alliance News Ltd where he specialised in covering global and regional business developments, economic news, and market trends. He graduated from the University of Warwick with a bachelor’s degree in politics in 2022, and from the University of Cambridge with a master’s degree in international relations in 2023. Languages: English. You can get in touch with Hugh by emailing h.cameron@newsweek.com

Hugh Cameron

Live News Reporter

Health care enrollment has fallen by over 700,000 in Michigan, after policies designed to protect public insurance coverage through the COVID-19 health emergency came to an end.

Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment in Michigan has fallen from nearly 3.1 million to under 2.7 million between March 2023 and October 2024, according to health care research nonprofit KFF.

Why It Matters

The decline in those with Medicaid and CHIP coverage in Michigan (23 percent) is above the national average (16 percent). While it has seen a smaller number disenrolled than states like Texas and Florida, Michigan’s overall disenrollment rate of 38 percent is also toward the top end, though below front-runner Montana (57 percent).

The number of individuals who either failed or were unable to disenroll is especially troubling, as research shows many may have lost out on coverage due to a lack of knowledge of the “unwinding process” or administrative hurdles rather than reasons of eligibility.

What To Know

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted in early 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic, included a provision directing states to maintain Medicaid and CHIP coverage for enrollees throughout over the subsequent three years, unless they moved out of state or requested termination of their coverage, and to suspending routine eligibility redeterminations during this time.

This contributed to a 32 percent increase in the number of those covered by Medicaid and CHIP, which rose from 71.4 million in February 2020 to 94.2 million when the provision expired in March 2023.

After this point, eligibility checks recommenced, and the number of enrollees fell 16 percent to 79.3 million in October, 2024. Between March 2023 and September 12, 2024, an estimated 25.2 million individuals were disenrolled as part of the nationwide Medicaid “unwinding” process, according to KFF. During the same time frame, approximately 56.4 million people had their coverage successfully renewed.

KFF highlights that many were unable to renew their policies or complete redeterminations because of delays or other administrative challenges, rather than any lack of eligibility.

A KFF survey carried out after the expirations of the COVID-era protections found that around two-thirds (65 percent) of all Medicaid enrollees were “not sure” whether states were permitted to kick people off their coverage for no longer meeting eligibility requirements or failing to complete the renewal process. Another 7 percent mistakenly thought that states were not permitted to do this.

KFF also said last month that a majority (69 percent) of those disenrolled have had their coverage terminated due to “procedural reasons,” including issues like outdated contact information or the enrollee’s failure to understand or complete renewal packets within the required time frame.

What People Are Saying

A June report from the Center for Health & Research Transformation: “Eighty two percent of those disenrolled were denied coverage due to procedural reasons including difficulties with the state’s renewal system, missing documentation, or missed notices.”

KFF said in September 2023: “High procedural disenrollment rates are concerning because many people who are disenrolled for these paperwork reasons may still be eligible for Medicaid coverage.”

What Happens Next

Although the national unwinding process is gradually winding down, KFF research indicates that many are still unaware of the consequences of the end of the continuous enrollment policy.

A poll conducted early last year found that a large number of Americans were still unaware about the implications of the policy expiring, with 69 percent telling KFF they had heard “a little” or “nothing at all” about the unwinding process.

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