“So much can change in just a few months. Americans have filed more than 40 million claims for jobless benefits in the past 10 weeks, and the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates nearly half of those who lost their jobs thus far are eligible for Medicaid.
“For comparison, an estimated 14.7 million people joined Medicaid from 2013 to 2019, according to estimates from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.
“While factors such as physical distancing may motivate a subset of Americans to wait to apply, preliminary state data already shows significant increases in Medicaid enrollment. Hawaii’s Medicaid program has received more than 21,000 applications since early March, an increase of 40% from this time last year. In April alone, Ohio added 140,000 individuals to its Medicaid program, which brings the percentage of the state’s population covered by Medicaid to 25%…”
