A survey of low-income adults in four southern US states shows that nearly half of those disenrolled from Medicaid after COVID-19 pandemic protections ended had no insurance in late 2023, leading to struggles to afford healthcare and prescription drugs and threatening to broaden a gap that had narrowed during expanded governmental benefits. [University of MN] 

'These findings suggest that the recent unwinding of COVID-19 pandemic–related safety-net policies may worsen health care affordability and widen existing income-based inequities.'

The data were derived from 89,130 adult residents of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas participating in the National Health Interview Survey in 2019, 2021, and 2022. In 2023, states rechecked Medicaid eligibility after COVID-19 governmental protections expired, disenrolling millions. The average participant age was 48.0 years, and 51.6% were women.

Researchers from Beth Israel Medical Center and Harvard Medical School published the results late last week in JAMA Health Forum.

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