Medicaid unwinding experiences in dual-eligible older adults

Medicaid unwinding experiences in dual-eligible older adults
JAMA Health Forum; by Renuka Tipirneni, Wendy Furst, Dominic A. Ruggiero, Dianne C. Singer, Erica Solway, Erin Beathard, Syama R. Patel, Andrei R. Stefanescu, Jeffrey T. Kullgren, John Z. Ayanian, Eric T. Roberts; 1/25
This US national survey of low-income older adults found varying awareness of and experiences with the Medicaid unwinding process and identified cost-related access barriers among those who recently lost Medicaid. By 9 to 10 months into the unwinding process, few older adults reported hearing a lot about Medicaid unwinding and many reported not receiving any communication about needing to renew Medicaid eligibility. By the time of our survey, slightly less than half of respondents had completed a Medicaid renewal. Although the proportion of respondents who said they lost Medicaid in the last 6 months was relatively low, those who lost Medicaid were more likely to report cost-related difficulty getting care. These findings highlight the importance of addressing informational and navigational barriers among dual-eligible older adults to avoid disruptions in Medicaid coverage that may contribute to difficulties accessing care.