That would be FALSE.
A common and widespread misunderstanding has appeared in recent US political discourse, leading to the misleading suggestion that the "10 million people" who lost healthcare are not Americans.
In reality, these are largely American citizens and legally present immigrants whose Medicaid coverage was cut following the end of COVID-19 pandemic-era protections.
The number "10 million" is also used in separate discussions about different legislative proposals.
Why Americans lost Medicaid coverage.
During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, federal law prevented states from disenrolling people from Medicaid, leading to record enrollment.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, ended these continuous coverage protections, and states resumed eligibility reviews and disenrollments beginning in April 2023. The process is known as the "Medicaid unwinding".
Who lost coverage.
Between April 2023 and May 2024, more than 25 million people were disenrolled from Medicaid. Most of those who lost coverage were American citizens and lawfully present immigrants who fell into one of two categories:
No longer eligible: Some had an increase in income or other changes that meant they no longer qualified for Medicaid.
Procedural reasons: A significant portion lost coverage for administrative reasons, such as not returning renewal forms on time or states having outdated contact information. Many of these people were still eligible.
Misinformation surrounding Medicaid changes.
Some political rhetoric has misleadingly connected Democrats' efforts to restore these health benefits to providing care for undocumented immigrants, but these are separate issues.
While some lawfully present immigrants are affected by Medicaid cuts, the vast majority of people who lost coverage under the unwinding process or more recent legislation are US citizens.
