As COVID-19 emergencies end, Wisconsin prepares for Medicaid upheaval

With federal COVID-19 emergencies ending in May, Wisconsin health officials and advocates are preparing for upheaval in the state’s main Medicaid program, which has grown 49% since the pandemic started but is expected to lose more than 300,000 people after extended coverage ends.

Many of the people likely to be kicked off Medicaid over the coming year should be able to get insurance through their jobs, on the federal marketplace or by aging into Medicare, experts say. But the end of boosted Medicaid coverage nationwide, starting in April, could mean 49,000 newly uninsured people in the state by June 2024, a report says.

“It’s going to be difficult,” said Brynne McBride, chief operating officer for ABC for Health, a Madison-based nonprofit law firm that helps people obtain health care. “How successful are states going to be at actually doing this transition?”