Louisiana has removed 275,000 people from Medicaid over six months

By Julie O’Donoghue
Contributing Writter

(lailluminator.com) — Louisiana took 275,000 people off Medicaid from the end of June through December, as it complies with renewed federal standards for the government-backed health insurance program.

Almost a quarter of the people dropped, 66,500 are children.

The state has had a lot of “churn” in its Medicaid program as it takes part in the nationwide Medicaid disenrollment process. Initially, Louisiana removed 362,000 from the Medicaid rolls, but 87,000 have already been allowed to rejoin. They still meet the requirements for Medicaid, despite being initially cut from the program.

Medicaid is a publicly-funded health insurance for low-income families and people with disabilities. Members must meet income requirements, which shift depending on their age and health status, to join. It’s funded through a mix of federal and state money.

For three years during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government prevented states from removing individuals from Medicaid, even if they no longer qualified. This caused Medicaid rolls in many states to swell. In Louisiana alone, an additional 450,000 people were brought into the program.

Those pandemic protections ended in April, leading to the sudden massive drop in enrollment. Louisiana started culling it rolls on a monthly basis starting at the end of June and has about five months left in its year-long review process.

Last year, the Louisiana Department of Health estimated only 222,400 people would be dropped from Medicaid during the year review, but the state has already surpassed that estimate and still has six more months of culling to go.

This article originally published in the February 5, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.