State government and health insurers are worried about a process called “churning” – people moving back and forth between Medicaid and private insurers as their income changes.  With more people now qualified for Medicaid, observers believe that as many as nine million people may move back and forth between Medicaid and private insurance in 2014.
In the past, people whose income rose enough to lose their Medicaid eligibility often could not afford private insurance and joined the ranks of the uninsured.  Now, some will be eligible for subsidies that may enable them to purchase health insurance on their own.  People who move back and forth between insurers, however, may be at risk of gaps in coverage and loss of continuity of care.
Churn may be especially prevalent in the lower-income communities served by Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals.
How does churn work and what are the states doing to anticipate and address it?  Learn more in this Washington Post article.