States Obtain Special Waivers to Help Unwinding Efforts
This brief discusses state uptake of special waivers aimed to mitigate procedural disenrollments during the unwinding of the continuous enrollment provision.
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
KFF’s policy research provides facts and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the organization’s core operating programs.
This brief discusses state uptake of special waivers aimed to mitigate procedural disenrollments during the unwinding of the continuous enrollment provision.
As states unwind the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision, they must comply with federal renewal requirements, including the requirement to conduct ex parte, or automated renewals. This policy watch explains what ex parte renewals are, examines variation in ex parte renewal rates across states, and discusses current issues as well as actions states are taking to increase ex parte rates.
Over six months after the expiration of pandemic-era enrollment protections, at least 27 million Medicaid enrollees—or roughly one-in-three enrollees across the country—have completed their state’s eligibility renewal process for the program. Over 18 million people have had their coverage renewed and over 10 million have been disenrolled, as of November 8, 2023. New KFF focus groups look beneath the numbers at the experiences of enrollees who have gone through the Medicaid renewal process. Drawing from…
The 21st annual survey of state Medicaid and CHIP program officials conducted by KFF and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families in January 2023 presents a snapshot of actions states are taking to prepare for the lifting of the continuous enrollment provision, as well as key state Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, and renewal policies and procedures in place as of January 2023. The report focuses on policies for children, pregnant individuals, parents, and other…
The 22nd annual survey of state Medicaid and CHIP programs officials conducted by KFF and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families in May 2024 presents a snapshot of actions states have taken to improve systems, processes, and communications during the unwinding, as well as key state Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, and renewals policies and procedures in place as of May 2024. The report focuses on policies for children, pregnant individuals, parents, and other non-elderly…
With Donald Trump returning to the presidency and Republican control of the Senate and House, work requirements are likely to be back on the agenda—through federal legislation or Medicaid waivers. This issue brief highlights the history of Medicaid work requirements, describes recent state activity to advance work requirement policies, and recaps the landscape of work requirement approvals and pending requests at the end of President Trump’s first term.
This paper examines the impact on enrollment and families of Arizona's Dec. 21, 2009, decision to freeze enrollment in KidsCare, the state's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The CHIP enrollment freeze, enacted in response to recession-driven state budget pressures, saved the state $12.9 million in FY 2011, but has also resulted in more than 100,000 children being placed on a waiting list for coverage and the loss of $41 million in federal matching funds. Issue…
August 25, 2021 – THE CONVERSATION / LA CONVERSACIÓN expands to address questions about the COVID-19 vaccines and children with new FAQ videos featuring pediatricians. This installment of the campaign is produced by KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) under its Greater Than COVID public information response and is presented with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Vaccine safety, efficacy and potential side effects, as well as the need for vaccinations among children, are among issues highlighted…
State interest in Medicaid Section 1115 behavioral health waivers, including mental health and substance use disorders, remains high. As of November, 2017, there are 15 approved and 11 pending behavioral health waivers in 22 states. This issue brief describes recent waiver activity in four areas: using Medicaid funds to pay for substance use and/or mental health services in “institutions for mental disease” (IMDs), expanding community-based behavioral health benefits, expanding Medicaid eligibility to cover additional people…
On June 28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in the case challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Court upheld the constitutionality of the ACA's individual mandate, which requires most people to maintain a minimum level of health insurance coverage beginning in 2014. A majority of the Court also found the ACA's Medicaid expansion unconstitutionally coercive of states, while a different majority of the Court held that this issue was fully remedied…
© 2026 KFF