The April Fools’ Day Deadline

Happy April Fools' Day! What is unique about April 1, 2023, is that it is the end of the pandemic-era continuous enrollment provisions for Medicaid. At the start of the pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which included a requirement that state Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through the end of the month in which the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends. To do this, states were provided enhanced federal funding. During the pandemic, Medicaid enrollment grew 28%.

In December of 2022, Congress set an end of March 31, 2023, for the continuous . . .