A new study estimates the gains and expected losses related to pandemic-era Medicaid policies scheduled to expire in April.
Texas continues to have the highest uninsured rate in the nation, but as a result of pandemic-era Medicaid policies, Texas did make historic gains in health insurance coverage. Two Texas A&M faculty members, Laura Dague from the Bush School and Benjamin Ukert from the School of Public Health, have estimated the gains in Medicaid coverage and the expected losses in caseload when the policies expire, as well as the fiscal impacts for Texas.
The latest issue of The Takeaway, “Medicaid & the Public Health Emergency: Implications for Texas,” summarizes the results of their research and lists several policies and administrative actions that would help maintain Texas’ health coverage gains as these temporary Medicaid policies end. Unless action is taken, they estimate that 700,000 Texans could lose health insurance coverage, increasing the uninsurance rate by at least 2 percentage points.
This issue follows up on a 2020 policy brief, “Medicaid Expansion’s Impact in Texas,” that explored the financial and health coverage impacts related to Texas’ choice not to expand Medicaid. The Episcopal Health Foundation, a philanthropic organization focused on improving community health in Texas, sponsored the underlying research for both reports.
One of the authors of both studies, Laura Dague, notes that, “These results are especially important given that the bipartisan year-end omnibus bill ends Medicaid’s continuous eligibility policy effective April 1, 2023, so redeterminations will begin very soon and people could begin to lose coverage starting in April.”
The Takeaway is a publication of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University.
