The Pennsylvania State Capitol building.
Driven by job losses, changes in federal rules, and an increased focus on health care during the coronavirus pandemic, enrollment in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program has swelled by more than 400,000 people over the last year, according to statistics from the state.
Enrollment in the state's Medical Assistance program increased by 14.7% between February 2020 through March of this year, the most recent statistics available.
In addition to pandemic-driven economic hardship, some of the large enrollment numbers are likely fueled by federal rules that say once an individual is enrolled in Medicaid, they can stay enrolled, with limited exceptions, state human service officials said. That keeps people from leaving the program if their income rises, and fewer people are being removed due to failure to submit renewal paperwork or related processing errors that would often kick people off the program before the pandemic struck.