Let’s delve into some important statistics regarding Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, CHIP, as of February 2023.
Medicaid and CHIP programs experienced significant growth in enrollees.
As of February 2023, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recorded a total of 93,373,794 individuals enrolled in these programs. Considering that there are 332 million people in the United States, that means more than 28 percent of all people in our country are covered by Medicaid.
Let’s break down this number further.
Medicaid, in particular, saw an enrollment of 86,174,094 individuals during the same period. This is a substantial increase of 291,095 individuals compared to the previous month, January 2023.
Similarly, the CHIP program didn’t lag behind, recording an enrollment of 7,199,700 individuals in February 2023. This is an upward climb of 111,838 individuals from January 2023’s numbers.
Now, when we draw a comparison to February 2020, we can clearly see an impressive upward trend in enrollment numbers for both Medicaid and CHIP. Specifically, enrollment has surged by 22,723,554 individuals, marking a 32.2 percent increase.
Drilling down, Medicaid’s enrollee count has skyrocketed by 22,369,004 individuals, which translates to a robust growth of 35.1 percent. On the other hand, CHIP has seen an enrollment increase by 354,550 individuals, a decent rise of 5.2 percent.
What could be driving these increases, you may ask? We attribute this growth predominantly to the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuous enrollment condition outlined in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The crisis has led to an increased dependency on these programs, underscoring their critical role in our healthcare system.
Some states are fighting back against the growth curve. My home state of Florida just disenrolled over 250,000 people from Medicaid. Most of the people disenrolled did not respond to a request to update their information.
We will continue to monitor these trends and their implications moving forward.
Programming note: Listen to Tim Powell report this story live this morning during Talk Ten Tuesdays with Chuck Buck and Dr. Erica Remer.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released in its 2025 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Final Rule a new Conditions of Participation (CoPs)
External audit volume more than doubled in 2024 over 2023 while total at-risk dollars increased fivefold to $11.2 million, impacting healthcare provider organizations’ cash flow
Please log in to your account to comment on this article.
Join Beth Wolf, MD, CPC, CCDS, for an in-depth webcast on the FY2025 spinal fusion MS-DRG updates. Discover key changes in DRG classification, understand impacts on documentation and CMI, and learn strategies to ensure compliance.
Join Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, as she presents effective strategies to strengthen collaboration between CDI, coding, and quality departments in acute care hospitals. Angela will also share guidance on implementing cross-departmental meetings, using shared KPIs, and engaging leadership to foster a culture of collaboration. Attendees will gain actionable tools to optimize documentation accuracy, elevate quality metrics, and drive a unified approach to healthcare goals, ultimately enhancing both patient outcomes and organizational performance.
Optimize your outpatient clinical documentation and gain comprehensive knowledge from foundational practices to advanced technologies, ensuring improved patient care and organizational and financial success. This webcast bundle provides a holistic approach to outpatient CDI, empowering you to implement best practices from the ground up and leverage advanced strategies for superior results. You will gain actionable insights to improve documentation quality, patient care, compliance, and financial outcomes.
Enhancing outpatient clinical documentation is crucial for maintaining accuracy, compliance, and proper reimbursement in today’s complex healthcare environment. This webcast, presented by industry expert Angela Comfort, DBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, will provide you with actionable strategies to tackle complex challenges in outpatient documentation. You’ll learn how to craft detailed clinical narratives, utilize advanced EHR features, and implement accurate risk adjustment and HCC coding. The session also covers essential regulatory updates to keep your documentation practices compliant. Join us to gain the tools you need to improve documentation quality, support better patient care, and ensure financial integrity.
Dr. Ronald Hirsch provides critical details on the new Medicare Appeal Process for Status Changes for patients whose status changes during their hospital stay. He also delves into other scenarios of hospital patients receiving custodial care or medically unnecessary services where patient notifications may be needed along with the processes necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal guidance.
Healthcare organizations face complex regulatory requirements under the No Surprises Act and Price Transparency rules. These policies mandate extensive fee disclosures across settings, and confusion is widespread—many hospitals remain unaware they must post every contracted rate. Non-compliance could lead to costly penalties, financial loss, and legal risks. Join David M. Glaser Esq. as he shows you how to navigate these regulations effectively.
Protect your facility from unwanted audits! Join Becky Jacobsen, BSN, RN, MBS, CCS-P, CPC, CPEDC, CBCS, CEMC, and take a deep dive into both the CMS and AMA guidelines for reporting post operative pain blocks. You’ll learn how to determine if the nerve block is separately codable with real life examples for better understanding. Becky will also cover how to evaluate whether documentation supports medical necessity, offer recommendations for stronger documentation practices, and provide guidance on educating providers about documentation requirements. She’ll include a discussion of appropriate modifier and diagnosis coding assignment so that you can be confident that your billing of post operative pain blocks is fully supported and compliant.
During this RACmonitor webcast Dr. Ronald Hirsch spotlights the areas of the OIG’s Work Plan and the findings of their most recent audits that impact utilization review, case management, and audit staff. He also provides his common-sense interpretation of the prevailing regulations related to those target issues. You’ll walk away better equipped with strategies to put in place immediately to reduce your risk of paybacks, increased scrutiny, and criminal penalties.
Copyright © 2024 ICD10monitor. Powered by MedLearn Media.
Prepare for the 2025 CMS IPPS Final Rule with ICD10monitor’s IPPSPalooza! Click HERE to learn more
Get 15% OFF on all educational webcasts at ICD10monitor with code JULYFOURTH24 until July 4, 2024—start learning today!
