Congratulations to Mimi Milanes who represented AllianceChicago Research and  project colleagues Jodi Simon, Katie McAuliff, Dana Bright, Yoojin Kim and Ta-Yun Yang at the 2025 @AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) to present a poster on the racial equity implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medicaid churn and its associated effects in Illinois.”  

Our study found that rates of Medicaid “churn,” when Medicaid-eligible individuals are removed from the Medicaid program and are then required to re-apply, were reduced across all groups post-COVID 19 public health emergency (PHE) compared to pre-PHE. These findings may suggest that the continuous Medicaid coverage during the PHE helped reduce Medicaid churn, even after the PHE period, but further study is needed.  

Reducing Medicaid churn may be an effective method for improving healthcare access for marginalized populations. Study findings could have significant implications for Illinois’ Medicaid redetermination policies and can inform national discussions on Medicaid reform and racial and health justice.