As a result of their limited access to affordable, employer-based coverage, families that lose out on Medicaid are at high risk of becoming uninsured. In a substantial majority of the states covered by the leaver studies, more than one-fifth of children were uninsured in the months after leaving welfare. In many states, close to half of parents were uninsured after leaving welfare, and in nearly all states, about one-quarter or more of parents were uninsured. In Colorado and Florida, for example, the proportions of uninsured parents were 46 percent and 51 percent, respectively. In Pennsylvania, three-fifths of parents who left welfare ended up uninsured.
Families are more likely to have unmet medical needs after leaving welfare.
Six of the state-level leaver studies specifically investigated the impact of leaving welfare on families' ability to secure needed medical care. All such studies found that families' unmet medical needs grew after leaving welfare. A significant minority of families are not aware that medical benefits may continue after loss of welfare. The state-level leaver studies do not provide much information about why eligible families lose health coverage. Eight of the studies, however, examined the extent to which families were aware of their ongoing eligibility for Medicaid after leaving welfare.