New Study Compares Ways to Reduce Medicaid Enrollment Churning

Because eligibility for Medicaid is determined by a person’s current monthly income, many beneficiaries temporarily lose their coverage when seasonal employment or overtime pay increases—only to later requalify when income dips. This “churning” in enrollment causes disruptions in care and places heavy administrative burdens on states and Medicaid managed care plans. In a new Health Affairs article, Commonwealth Fund–supported researcher Katherine Swartz of the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues compare the potential of four policy options to reduce Medicaid churning.