Medicaid Needs To Expand As COVID Aid Dries Up, NJ Advocates Say

NEW JERSEY — About 2.2 million New Jersey residents, or 23 percent of the state’s population, are enrolled in Medicaid. Yet many of them struggle to enroll in and maintain coverage – or can’t get the services they need. And as federal coronavirus pandemic aid dries up, things are about to get even worse, a recent report says.

On Wednesday, New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) and Make the Road New Jersey released the results of a study that surveyed 2,973 Medicaid recipients across the U.S., including 500 from the Garden State.

The national report, “Strengthening Medicaid: Challenges States Must Address as the Public Health Emergency Ends,” along with the New Jersey state survey profile, were written in partnership with the People’s Action Institute and the Center for Popular Democracy.

Medicaid is at a crucial turning point in the United States, advocates said:

“During the COVID-19 public health emergency, Congress passed legislation requiring Medicaid programs to keep people continuously enrolled, and as a result, the number of Medicaid enrollees in New Jersey grew from 1.7 million pre-pandemic to 2.2 million in 2022. With Congress terminating the public health emergency on May 11, 2023, New Jersey must act quickly to remove barriers to coverage if the state is to prevent the loss of nearly 300,000 residents’ Medicaid coverage … This report comes just weeks after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11 and as Congress negotiates a federal budget that could cut funding for key programs and initiate work requirements for Medicaid recipients. Congress set March 31, 2023, as the end date for the continuous Medicaid enrollment provisions and will phase down federal funding through December 2023. States that accepted the funding can now resume disenrollments starting this month.”

More than one in three New Jersey respondents are not aware that they need to renew their enrollment in Medicaid, according to the study.

Researchers said that the need to renew coverage isn’t the only hurdle that people face with the program, which is partly funded by the federal government and primarily managed by state governments:

“1 in 4 respondents in New Jersey reported challenges applying for Medicaid coverage, such as long waits, not understanding how to apply, and Medicaid agency offices being closed when they visited. [About] 16.7% of respondents reported experiencing challenges when renewing their coverage, such as income no longer meeting the eligibility requirements. Nearly 1 in 3 New Jersey respondents reported challenges accessing services with their Medicaid coverage, such as difficulty finding a provider that accepts Medicaid and has available appointments.”

Ironically, the report found that more than two thirds of respondents (68.6%) are mostly or completely satisfied with the quality of care they receive through Medicaid. Many described how important the coverage has been for them and their families.

“Medicaid access is hugely important to millions of New Jerseyans, especially now as we will begin to see the first population of NJ FamilyCare disenrollments take effect,” said Laura Waddell, NJCA’s health care program director.

“New Jersey must continue to do what it can to strengthen Medicaid for our low-income and most vulnerable residents,” Waddell said.

The report makes several recommendations to improve Medicaid coverage across the U.S. and New Jersey, including:

• automatic enrollment in Medicaid to reduce gaps in coverage
• expanding access to coverage to adults, regardless of immigration status

In New Jersey, adult immigrants with a green card are still barred from receiving Medicaid for their first five years of lawful permanent residency, creating a significant gap in coverage. It’s something that has personally affected Victalina Abrego, a member of Make the Road New Jersey.

“My kids have Medicaid but I'm ineligible,” Abrego said. “My children have been able to go to their primary care provider regularly for preventative care, and this has been a great help to my family. There's no way we can afford to see a doctor without Medicaid, because we are low income. I am afraid that their health coverage will end now that the public health emergency has ended.”

“My hope is that Medicaid can be expanded to all immigrants like myself,” Abrego added.

Send news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.