In Ohio, over 500,000 people have lost access to public health care in the last two years. This drop comes after the end of COVID-related protections that helped keep people enrolled in programs like Medicaid and CHIP.
Research from KFF shows that Medicaid enrollment in Ohio has decreased from more than 3.4 million to below 2.9 million between March 2023 and October 2024. This is a significant 16% decline, reflecting trends seen nationwide as states begin to reevaluate enrollments after the public health emergency ended.
During the pandemic, a rule called “continuous enrollment” prevented states from removing anyone from Medicaid or CHIP. This kept coverage stable, allowing enrollment in Ohio to increase by 32%—from just under 2.6 million to over 3.4 million—by March 2023.
Now, with the unwinding process in effect, many lost their coverage not because they were ineligible, but often due to procedural issues. For instance, some individuals may not have received renewal notices on time, or there were mistakes in processing their forms.
KFF surveys found that many people were confused about the unwinding process. Many didn’t know that their states would start checking enrollments again or what they needed to do to keep their coverage. In Ohio, there were high rates of disenrollment among children, leading to concerns from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
An audit in 2024 estimated that Ohio may have mishandled around 6% of its Medicaid enrollments. Despite these challenges, research indicates that compared to pre-pandemic levels, there are still about 11% more Ohioans enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP now than before February 2020.
As the state has nearly finished its unwinding process, experts have indicated that Medicaid and CHIP disenrollment updates will no longer be tracked. This change means both the challenges and successes of Ohio’s health care coverage landscape during the pandemic will be crucial for moving forward.
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Source linkOhio,Health Care,Health Insurance,Coronavirus,Medicaid,CHIP
