Now that the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency is upon us, nearly all of the relief provisions that applied to help people get through the pandemic have expired or are expiring. One of those relief provisions prohibited states from terminating most taxpayers' Medicaid coverage.
Under normal circumstances, a taxpayer must renew their Medicaid coverage annually by submitting information about their income and household to confirm eligibility for Medicaid coverage. That annual process was suspended during the COVID-19 emergency because of the inability to terminate Medicaid coverage during the pandemic. Now, some members of Congress have issued calls for the government to provide assistance to taxpayers who may see their Medicaid coverage terminated.
We asked two professors and authors of ALM's Tax Facts with opposing political viewpoints to share their opinions about what the federal government should do to protect Americans who may be losing Medicaid coverage as the end of the COVID-19 emergency approaches.
Below is a summary of the debate that ensued between the two professors.
Their Votes:
Bloink
Byrnes
Their Reasons:
Bloink: Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health coverage when the public health emergency ends, which happens in a few short months at this point. That includes Americans who newly qualified for Medicaid coverage under liberalized rules put into place during the pandemic, as well as those who qualified for enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage, which have already been extended.
