More than 5 million children have lost Medicaid coverage since states began the process of winding up Pandemic Continuation Insurance Protections. And recently released National Health Insurance Survey (NHIS) data for the first quarter of 2024 further intensified concerns that children are losing access to the health care they need to succeed. According to the NHIS, the number of uninsured children increased by one percentage point to 5.2%, which equates to 800,000 children. As my colleague Joan Alker tweeted, NHIS data for the first quarter of a given year typically reflects the highest coverage rates for that year.
If past enrollment trends continue, we can expect that many, if not most, children who lose Medicaid will unfortunately be uninsured but will retain their eligibility. In fact, ASPE researchers estimate that three in four children who drop out of Medicaid due to paperwork or other administrative barriers will retain their eligibility. Therefore, it is critical that states build on the momentum of communications and community partner engagement established during termination to reconnect eligible children and families to health insurance.
Back to school is a critical time to conduct Medicaid/CHIP outreach efforts, and it has proven highly effective over the years. And for good reason. Health insurance helps ensure families have their children’s immunizations up to date and have what they need to attend school and be ready to learn. It ensures student-athletes get up to date annual medical exams they need to participate in school sports, and students with special needs get the treatment and support services they need to start the new school year. Medicaid plays a vital role for all these students, but they can only get help if they are covered.
That's why we all need to reach out to families whose children are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but aren't. This is a time when parents are focused on preparing their children to return to school, so you can encourage them to apply or reapply by reminding them to add health insurance to their checklist and sharing details about Medicaid and CHIP. This year, it's important to include messaging that motivates those who lost coverage for procedural reasons to check again. Messages such as “Did you lose your coverage? Your child may still be eligible” can help capture the attention of families who lost Medicaid but whose children are likely still eligible.
GMMB, CCF's communications partner, has created a back-to-school toolkit in both English and Spanish that is free for anyone to use. The toolkit includes social graphics, short videos, flyers, website copy, messaging scripts and sample language for newsletters and emails, some of which can be customized to include state-specific information.
Several states have also published their own back-to-school outreach resources for partners, which can be found on CCF's State Outreach Scan , and the federal government's Connecting Kids to Coverage campaign has published additional back-to-school outreach resources here .
Reaching families with these resources should not be left to states alone, because not all states have the capacity to take action as they gradually move toward lifting restrictions and prepare for regulatory changes around eligibility and enrollment. Health care providers, school leaders, social service agencies, and advocacy groups must deliver these messages directly to partners and families. Let’s not be complacent next year, when the full impact of Medicaid repeal is felt and the number of children without health insurance or access to care grows. There are things we can do now.
