A November 14 report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) demonstrates that streamlined Medicaid renewal options for enrollees result in nominal erroneous eligibility determinations among the full Medicaid population.

The authors report more than 90% of correct determination for a subset of the Medicaid population when streamlined eligibility processes were used and about 1% error rate over the entire Medicaid population. The report suggests that the low rates of improper redetermination (people found to have ongoing eligibility in error) are offset by the significant reductions in states’ administrative burden.

Release of this report coincides with release of the Informational Bulletin by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services providing states guidance on maintaining Medicaid Unwinding flexibilities. For states electing to deploy strategies outlined in the informational bulletin, a stakeholder process is likely and providers may be tapped for their expertise. Because of the limited scope of this report, these flexibilities would most likely only effect eligibility and enrolment determinations for income-only Medicaid applications/renewals.