Medicaid Enrollment
Correct Colorado's Coverage Trajectory
What You Need to Know:
An urgent issue that crosses all sectors of the safety net is Medicaid disenrollment. If policymakers don’t act soon to stabilize the health care safety net and address Medicaid enrollment challenges, Colorado will lose critical health care infrastructure that will be costly, if not impossible, to rebuild.
Key Points/Hospital Perspective:
- Following the end of the public health emergency, declines in Medicaid coverage are putting Colorado’s patients and health care safety net at risk. In fact, Colorado ranks worst in the country in net Medicaid enrollment.
- Hospital emergency departments (EDs) are seeing 50 percent more uninsured patients than before or during the pandemic; over 18,000 more uninsured patients are visiting the ED every quarter. This creates financial instability for safety net providers and drives up health care costs for all Coloradans.
- Colorado must take action to improve coverage and secure the health care safety net.
CHA Contact: Bridget Frazier, senior manager of public policy | [email protected]
What are the effects of Medicaid loss?
What are the effects of Medicaid loss?
- Disruptions in care for Medicaid and uninsured clients who rely on safety net providers
- Reduced access to care for Coloradans – regardless of their insurance status
- Worse physical and mental health for Coloradans
- Increased demand on emergency departments and urgent care clinics that are not best suited to provide routine medical services
- Economic losses for Colorado communities
