The Partnership for Medicaid recently called on Congress to give state Medicaid agencies 120 days to prepare for the conclusion of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
The coalition is composed of 23 medical organizations, including the American Dental Association and the American Dental Education Association.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was enacted in 2020 along with the nationwide public health emergency, which is set to expire April 16. The act prohibits Medicaid agencies from disenrolling beneficiaries until the end of April and forbids private insurers from imposing cost-sharing or prior authorization requirements on COVID-19 testing for the duration of the public health emergency.
Approximately 14.4 million of Medicaid enrollees could lose coverage when the public health emergency ends, according to the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan policy group.
The Partnership for Medicaid sent a letter April 1 to leaders of the House, Senate and CMS asking for a transparent and evidence-informed wind down of provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
"This will allow state Medicaid agencies sufficient time to transition, plan and ensure enrollees have time to re-establish their Medicaid eligibility or transition to subsidized coverage in the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces," the coalition said in its letter.
The coalition also asked CMS to invest any savings from the unwinding into state Medicaid programs to benefit beneficiaries.