In August, a group of Medicaid beneficiaries filed a potential class-action lawsuit against the state of Florida, alleging that the state did not adequately inform individuals before terminating their enrollment in the healthcare program. The lawsuit was amended in January and is set to go to trial on May 13, as ruled by U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard based in Jacksonville last week.
The basis of the lawsuit lies in the conclusion of the federal public health emergency declared in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, Medicaid saw a significant increase in beneficiaries, from approximately 3.8 million in January 2020 to nearly 5.78 million in April 2023. This was due to an inability to drop individuals who might not typically qualify based on income levels, as states were required to refrain from removing individuals from the rolls during the emergency period under an agreement with Washington.
However, following the end of the public health emergency, Florida implemented an eligibility “redetermination” process, resulting in the removal of hundreds of thousands of individuals from the program. Enrollment stood at around 4.8 million as of February, according to data published on the state Agency for Health Care Administration website.