Debate: Should We Help Taxpayers Who Lose Medicaid Coverage?

Our tax experts discuss whether to aid Americans losing coverage due to the end of the COVID emergency.

Now that the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency is upon us, nearly all of the relief provisions that applied to help people get through the pandemic have expired or are expiring. One of those relief provisions prohibited states from terminating most taxpayers’ Medicaid coverage.

Under normal circumstances, a taxpayer must renew their Medicaid coverage annually by submitting information about their income and household to confirm eligibility for Medicaid coverage. That annual process was suspended during the COVID-19 emergency because of the inability to terminate Medicaid coverage during the pandemic. Now, some members of Congress have issued calls for the government to provide assistance to taxpayers who may see their Medicaid coverage terminated.

We asked two professors and authors of ALM’s Tax Facts with opposing political viewpoints to share their opinions about what the federal government should do to protect Americans who may be losing Medicaid coverage as the end of the COVID-19 emergency approaches.

Below is a summary of the debate that ensued between the two professors.

Their Votes:

Bloink
Byrnes

Their Reasons:

Bloink: Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health coverage when the public health emergency ends, which happens in a few short months at this point. That includes Americans who newly qualified for Medicaid coverage under liberalized rules put into place during the pandemic, as well as those who qualified for enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage, which have already been extended.

Our government should be offering assistance to those who are losing Medicaid coverage and may not know where to turn for health coverage.

Byrnes: We’ve been providing an unprecedented amount of stimulus for over three years by this point. Enhanced benefits and eased restrictions were necessary during the height of the pandemic. The fact is, they’re no longer needed. Americans who relied on expanded assistance were well aware that these benefits were temporary and should have ample notice of the end of their applicability by this point, so there’s no need for the government to waste more money on providing additional unnecessary assistance.

Bloink: On the Medicaid front, states have a patchwork of different systems that could complicate matters. Many Americans moved during the pandemic and may not have updated their contact information — making it more difficult for Medicaid to renew their coverage via the pre-pandemic system. The federal government must step in to ease this potential burden and give additional time for Americans to renew coverage or search for affordable coverage without coverage gaps.

Byrnes: Not every COVID-19-related government program should be made permanent or even extended. Americans have access to safe and effective vaccines, and it’s time to focus on moving forward and getting back to normal, rather than cementing these stimulus/assistance measures into place at the federal level. There is simply no longer a need for these additional assistance programs.

Bloink: We don’t want to find ourselves in yet another public health emergency spurred by the fact that millions of Americans do not have access to affordable health coverage. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the importance of assuring that all Americans have access to quality health coverage.

Now is not the time to drop the ball on that goal. I’m not suggesting that we continue “freebie” Medicaid coverage for those who don’t qualify indefinitely — but we absolutely should provide those taxpayers who are about to lose coverage with assistance in finding affordable coverage.

Byrnes: Taxpayers have options for finding affordable coverage. We already offer qualifying taxpayers assistance via the premium tax credit and other programs designed to give access to health insurance without breaking the bank. There is absolutely no need to create some type of special program to give additional assistance to taxpayers who have been relying on Medicaid coverage without proof of qualification for years by this point.

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