©2024 The News Service of Florida
Enrollment in Florida’s Medicaid program dipped slightly below 4.8 million in January, continuing months of decreases that began after the end of a federal public health emergency last spring.
Data posted on the state Agency for Health Care Administration website showed 4,799,446 people enrolled in January, down from 4,866,692 in December, 4,946,551 in November and 5,105,874 in October.
The federal government declared a public health emergency in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal and state governments.
As part of the emergency, Washington agreed to pick up more of the tab for the program.
But in exchange for the extra money, states had to agree that they wouldn’t drop people from the Medicaid rolls during the emergency.
Florida’s program grew from about 3.8 million beneficiaries in January 2020 to nearly 5.78 million in April 2023.
At least in part, the increase stemmed from the program being unable to drop people who otherwise might not qualify because of their income levels.
With the end of the public health emergency last spring, the state has used what is known as an eligibility “redetermination” process.
Enrollment has steadily declined, and the redetermination process is continuing.
Florida is one of the few states that has opted to not expand Medicaid eligibility.
