The necessity of frequent and accurate Medicaid eligibility reviews is undeniable. American taxpayers spend more than $800 billion per year on this program that was intended to be a safety net for those in true need. The government should ensure those who are enrolled actually qualify for these taxpayer-funded benefits. But believe it or not, reviews haven’t happened for more than three years.
As part of the COVID public health emergency, states received additional Medicaid funding from the federal government. As a condition of the new funding, states were prohibited from performing routine eligibility checks on enrollees. States couldn’t remove virtually anyone from the program, including those who went back to work as the economy rebounded. This added close to 20 million new enrollees, most of whom are no longer eligible (assuming they were even eligible in the first place).
