<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0yf7kY_0wMNbJR000" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0yf7kY_0wMNbJR000" width="1440" height="810" ><figcaption>Credit: shapecharge/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>National Medicaid enrollment is expected to decline by 4.4% in fiscal year 2025, due partially to states “unwinding” coverage after the period of continuous enrollment implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis by KFF.An enrollment decline in fiscal 2025 would follow a larger loss of 7.5% in the previous year. However, during the pandemic, Medicaid enrollment only swelled. Fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022 each saw significant coverage gains as states were required to keep enrollment open continuously.“Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and start of the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision, enrollment rose sharply in FY 2021 and continued to grow, though more slowly, through FY 2023, reaching record highs for the program,” the report said. “When the continuous enrollment provision ended, most states began Medicaid disenrollments in late FY 2023 and finished in FY 2024 (though some states will continue to process renewals in FY 2025). As a result, Medicaid enrollment declined in FY 2024 and is projected to decline again in FY 2025.”Despite declining enrollment, total Medicaid spending is projected to increase 3.9% in 2025, with state spending increasing by an average of 7%. Total Medicaid spending growth has slowed each year since 2022, when it reached a five-year high of 9.8% year-over-year. Meanwhile, state Medicaid spending is expected to slow considerably in fiscal year 2025, as states saw Medicare expenditures increase by an average of 19.2% in 2024.Expanded eligibility requirements and population growth have contributed to states’ Medicaid-related financial pressures. KFF noted that more than half of states suggested that the change of a Medicaid budget shortfall was likely or almost certain, according to a recent survey. Some states have also expressed uncertainty about the long-term financial outlook of their Medicaid program.Medicaid pays for a variety of services, including home- and community-based services, that help seniors age in place.</div></body>

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Medicaid enrollment to drop in 2025, analysis finds

National Medicaid enrollment is expected to decline by 4.4% in fiscal year 2025, due partially to states “unwinding” coverage after the period of continuous enrollment implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis by KFF. An enrollment decline in fiscal 2025 would follow a larger loss of...