Policy & Research

An updated version of this issue brief is now available here.

This issue brief aims to educate stakeholders and policymakers about an upcoming federal policy change that could impact coverage for many MassHealth members.  Like all states, Massachusetts received enhanced federal Medicaid funding under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the first major federal stimulus package passed by Congress in response to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. As a condition of receiving these funds, Massachusetts is required to maintain continuous coverage in MassHealth during the federal COVID-19 public health emergency. When the continuous coverage requirement expires at the end of the month in which the public health emergency ends – which is currently slated for July 14, 2022 – MassHealth will resume its standard renewal, or “redetermination,” processes. As MassHealth begins to redetermine eligibility for a considerable volume of its members, there is a high risk that some individu­als who remain eligible will experience a loss in coverage. This brief includes a summary of MassHealth’s eligibility and enrollment approach for when it resumes normal eligibility and redetermination processes and describes additional strategies that MassHealth and other stakeholders can take to ensure that people who remain eligible stay covered.