In Idaho, half of people removed from Medicaid didnt send state their info [Video]

KYLE PFANNENSTIELIdaho Capital Sun

More than 87,000 Idahoans, so far, are being removed from Medicaid coverage after expanded coverage from the pandemic has lapsed.

A little more than half of Medicaid recipients who lost coverage — 48,857 — were removed because the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare either could not contact them or the Medicaid enrollees didn’t give the agency the information to prove their eligibility, department spokesperson Greg Stahl told the Idaho Capital Sun in an email. Another 38,682 people removed from Medicaid were determined ineligible, Stahl said, while 27,537 were deemed eligible.

The figures, released last week by the Department of Health and Welfare, show about 76% of Medicaid recipients who state officials reviewed will no longer have access to the program offering free health insurance.

States were largely barred from removing people from Medicaid during the pandemic. Idaho and other states began reviewing and removing ineligible Medicaid recipients this April …