Medicaid unwinding: Millions Losing Coverage as Pandemic Protections End
Washington D.C. – June 25,2025 – A new report reveals that millions of Americans are losing Medicaid and CHIP coverage as states resume eligibility checks following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The unwinding of continuous enrollment policies, implemented during the pandemic to maintain coverage, is leading to important disenrollments nationwide.
During the public health emergency,Congress authorized temporary funding to ensure continuous enrollment for Medicaid and CHIP recipients. Though, beginning in April 2023, states began the process of redetermining eligibility for the roughly 94 million individuals who had been continuously enrolled, leading to the removal of those no longer qualifying or failing to complete required paperwork. States are mandated to complete this unwinding process by the end of 2025.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), approximately 27 million individuals have been disenrolled out of 89 million completed redeterminations as of the first year and a half of unwinding.Despite these losses, nationwide enrollment currently stands around 79 million as of October 2024 – approximately 10% higher than pre-pandemic levels [[source]].However,the impact of unwinding is not uniform across states. CMS data indicates substantial variation in disenrollment rates, suggesting that a variety of factors are at play.
Young Adults Disproportionately Affected
The report highlights that certain populations are experiencing higher disenrollment rates. Specifically, CMS and two states identified young adults as being notably vulnerable. This is highly likely due to aging out of child-specific eligibility groups,which frequently enough have higher income thresholds than those available to adults under 65 without disabilities [[source]].
Looking Ahead
The unwinding of Medicaid continuous enrollment represents a major shift in healthcare access for millions of Americans. As states continue to process redeterminations through the end of 2025, monitoring disenrollment trends and identifying vulnerable populations will be crucial to ensuring continued access to care.
Call to Action: Individuals who have received notices regarding their Medicaid or CHIP eligibility should respond promptly and ensure all required information is submitted to avoid unintended loss of coverage. Resources and assistance are available through [link to state Medicaid agency] and [link to healthcare.gov].
