Medicaid Coverage Restored for Half a Million Mistakenly Dropped Individuals

Half a million people, including children, were mistakenly dropped from Medicaid due to state system errors. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) discovered that 29 states and Washington, D.C., were reviewing Medicaid eligibility at the family level instead of on an individual basis, resulting in thousands of people being deemed ineligible for the low-income insurance program. CMS has ordered states to reinstate coverage for those affected and fix the underlying issue or risk losing federal funding. The glitch has led to children losing coverage in at least 18 states, while adult household members with different eligibility statuses lost coverage in another 22 states. CMS will work with the states to implement a fix and ensure compliance with federal requirements.