Medicaid Has a Case of Long Covid

The economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic has been remarkable. Unemployment rates in April were at record lows in 17 states, and Friday’s jobs report said the economy added 390,000 net jobs in May. Yet America’s Medicaid program has long suffered from Covid.

In one of its 2020 relief bills, Congress temporarily increased the federal government’s Medicaid contribution. As a condition of receiving the extra money, states cannot opt ​​out of Medicaid beneficiaries who are no longer eligible — only those who die, opt out, or leave the state. This restriction applies until the end of the official health emergency.