Presenters: Cindy Mann, Partner, Manatt Health | Kinda Serafi, Partner, Manatt Health | Tricia Brooks, Research Professor, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families

How Can States Mitigate Coverage Loss for Children and Families When State Medicaid Agencies Unwind Eligibility and Enrollment Flexibilities Obtained During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency? Find Out in a New Webinar From Manatt Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Family Voices and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. 

As a condition of receiving enhanced federal funding under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), states are required to maintain continuous coverage for Medicaid enrollees during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Many states also took additional action to ensure access to Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic by seeking federal authority to streamline eligibility and enrollment processes.

The authority for those flexibilities and the FFCRA’s continuous coverage requirements are both tied to the PHE, currently slated to end on January 20, 2021, absent a further extension. When that happens, states will face a significant backlog of Medicaid cases requiring redetermination at a time when state agency workforces are diminished and the economic crisis is leading to increased numbers of new Medicaid/CHIP applications. Without careful planning and execution when unwinding these federal flexibilities, there is a significant risk that eligible enrollees will lose their coverage. 

In a new webinar, Manatt Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Family Voices and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families will review the background and legal requirements associated with the Medicaid continuous coverage provisions and what needs to happen at the end of the PHE. We will also delve into the strategies that can mitigate unintended coverage loss:

• Staging redeterminations to prioritize renewing coverage for children and other vulnerable populations
• Addressing high rates of returned mail due to postal delays and housing displacements caused by COVID-19 and natural disasters
• Conducting more consumer outreach and extending reply time frames
• Utilizing existing eligibility and enrollment policies to help protect children’s and families’ coverage, such as 12 months of continuous coverage
• Establishing an on-the-ground monitoring and feedback loop to assess impacts on children’s coverage and enable rapid responses

This webinar is funded through the generous support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. 

Presenters:
Cindy Mann, Partner, Manatt Health
Kinda Serafi, Partner, Manatt Health
Tricia Brooks, Research Professor, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families

Date and Time
Friday, November 13

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This program does not constitute legal advice, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship. Views expressed by presenters are strictly their own and should not be construed to be the views of Manatt or attributed to Manatt.