On August 24, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) held its fourth monthly webinar about the unwinding of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) flexibilities for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility. Beth Lynk, Director of the Office of Communications and Senior Advisor to the Administrator for External Affairs at CMS, led the call.

Speakers included:

• Megan Reilly, Senior Advisor for the Office of Communications (OC)
• Dr. Ellen Montz, Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight
• Jonathan Blanar, Deputy Director for the OC

Beth Lynk first discussed the status of the PHE. Ms. Lynk noted that the PHE will continue past its scheduled October 13 expiration date because the Administration did not issue its required 60-days’ notice. She also noted that CMS recently released a report that includes resources and data on the impact of the eventual unwinding on the Medicaid and CHIP population, the impact of losing coverage, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Megan Reilly provided a high-level overview of the Health Insurance Marketplace. Her overview included guidance on determining Marketplace eligibility, State-based Marketplace (SBM) compared to Federally-facilitated Marketplace (FFM), how consumers use the Marketplace, premium tax credits, cost-sharing reductions, application and enrollment information, Marketplace plan requirements, essential health benefit categories, health plan categories, and premium payments. Ms. Reilly also highlighted the Medicaid unwinding timeline from the consumer standpoint. She noted that renewals may start as soon as the announcement of the end of the PHE, eligibility decisions and transfers to the Marketplace may start the first day the PHE ends, and that coverage ends on the last day of the month the PHE ends.

Dr. Ellen Montz outlined the FFM’s key processes and plans for the PHE unwinding to ensure coverage transitions are successful and efficient. Dr. Montz emphasized several times that consumers can sign up for Marketplace coverage as soon as they know their Medicaid coverage is ending and to not wait until they have lost coverage. She noted FFM’s work to reduce the amount of required documentation after application submission, streamline communication for account transfers and eligibility results, and make the consumer experience more efficient. In alignment with CMS’s stakeholder engagement strategy, the agency has partnered with states, consumer advocates, health plans, Navigators, agents and brokers, departments of insurance, and more to expand its reach. CMS is also establishing a consumer engagement strategy meant for individuals who are directed to the Marketplace but have not yet enrolled in coverage. CMS is working will all 18 SBMs, and each has coordinated with their state Medicaid/CHIP agencies, assessed current system and business processes for potential updates, and is engaging with stakeholders.

Lastly, Ms. Reilly reviewed important Marketplace resources, such as Marketplace.cms.gov and the Medicaid and CHIP Continuous Enrollment Unwinding Communications Toolkit (available in English and Spanish).

The next webinar will be held on September 28, 2022, at 12:00pm EST. Monthly webinars are scheduled through December 2022, with transcripts and recordings available on the CMS website. Applied Policy will continue to attend and provide summaries of the events.

**********

This Applied Policy Summary was prepared by Marlowe Galbraith with support from the Applied Policy team of health policy experts. If you have any questions or need more information please contact her at mgalbraith@appliedpolicy.com or at 610-937-8378.