A Student-Led Initiative to Prevent Medicaid Disenrollment in Hospitalized Patients During Redetermination

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Policy
• Health Equity

Background:

• Medicaid redetermination resumed in April 2023 post-COVID-19 pandemic.
• This process affects 94 million Medicaid recipients nationwide.
• In Georgia, 2.7 million recipients faced potential coverage loss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement a medical student-led intervention.
• To educate and assist Medicaid recipients with redetermination.
• To address potential loss of health coverage.

Main Methods:

• A hospital-based intervention was conducted in an urban safety-net hospital in Atlanta, GA.
• 53 trained medical student volunteers educated and assisted 352 admitted adult Medicaid recipients.
• Interventions occurred from October 2023 to April 2024, focusing on redetermination awareness and application assistance.

Main Results:

• 60.5% of patients (201/332) were unaware of the Medicaid redetermination process.
• Only 8% of patients (20/250) could recertify or were prepared to recertify post-intervention.
• Difficulty accessing the online portal was the primary barrier to recertification.

Conclusions:

• A student-led intervention served as a crucial educational resource for patients regarding health policy changes.
• Limitations in the Medicaid infrastructure hindered the intervention's effectiveness in preventing disenrollment.
• Targeted interventions are essential to prevent procedural disenrollment and advance health equity for Medicaid recipients.