Millions Will Lose Health Insurance Starting Saturday. But They Might Not Know It.

Jamsostek has experienced the largest increase in the cost of living in the last 40 years

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Millions of people will begin losing health insurance on Saturday when five states begin phasing out pandemic coverage that prevents people from buying Medicaid.

During a public health emergency, states are generally required to keep people on Medicaid without annual reapplying. But now that the public health emergency is disappearing, so is Medicaid.

"We're now at the point where states are starting to enroll people -- they can redo the Medicaid enrollment rolls," said Dr. Avenel Joseph, Roberts Vice Chairman of Policy. The Wood Johnson Foundation told ABC they broke the news.

The problem that worries Joseph and other supporters is that enough people know they're shutting down the coverage.

It could be a "nightmare" for 62-year-old Arkansas Medicaid beneficiary Jeffrey Jackson, who could lose his coverage within days.

Arkansas is one of five states, along with Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota and New Hampshire, that will begin dropping people from coverage on April 1.

© Stock Photos/Getty Images A woman sits on a treatment table in a clinic while a healthcare worker checks her blood pressure.

Without Medicaid, Jackson's financial decisions were make or break.

Jackson said he should see his doctor to see what he can do without medication.

"I would say we'll see what's left and then see the value and what I can and can't do," Jackson told ABC.

Read more: WHO says Covid-19 pandemic 'may be in transition'

Despite the serious risks, lack of Medicaid was a common problem every year before the pandemic: the average person on Medicaid has coverage for about 10 months of the year, often due to so-called "dropouts" when bureaucratic hurdles push people out. . Mail out of the system for reasons as simple as lost or moved.

About 65 percent of unregistered people will remain uninsured next year, according to estimates by KFF, a nonpartisan public health charity.

Getting health insurance can be difficult, Joseph says.

"It's not like you check a box and you can go back to Medicaid the next day. The process of re-enrolling in Medicaid, even if you're eligible, can take months. And at that time, people, but their families, and especially their children — Guy , could fall through the gap," said Joseph.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that at this point, after three years of "no change" in the system, about 7 million Americans will still be without Medicaid-eligible benefits.

Another 8 million will lose protection.

"What we're hearing from Medicaid administrators in the state is the biggest change in coverage for people since the Affordable Care Act was passed 10 years ago," Joseph said. - Great work.

"And with that kind of movement," Joseph said, "helpless people fall through the cracks."

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