Particle.news
Download on the App Store
7 ARTICLES
·
2h ago

CMS Blocks Ohio Plan for Continuous Child Medicaid Coverage as Uninsured Kids Reach 152,000

A new JAMA study finds most children cycle through Medicaid, highlighting the stakes of recent federal policy shifts.

Image
Image
Image

Overview

  • Ohio now has about 152,000 uninsured children, up by roughly 30,000 since 2022 to 5.6% of kids, largely following Medicaid/CHIP disenrollments, according to Georgetown’s analysis of Census data.
  • Between March 2023 and March 2024, Ohio reviewed eligibility for more than 3.5 million beneficiaries and disenrolled over 600,000 children and adults during the post‑pandemic unwinding.
  • Federal officials told Ohio this summer they would not consider its request to provide continuous coverage from birth through age four, as CMS moved away from approving multiyear continuous‑eligibility waivers.
  • Ohio lawmakers initially required continuous coverage through age four in the 2023 budget, then passed a repeal in 2025 that Governor Mike DeWine vetoed, but the federal shift prevents the policy from advancing.
  • A Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health microsimulation published in JAMA estimates 61% of U.S. children enroll in Medicaid/CHIP by age 18 and 42% face coverage gaps, with larger disruptions in non‑expansion states, as CBO projects a $1 trillion Medicaid funding reduction that could cut enrollment by 10–15 million.