Illinois Removes Nearly 700,000 People From Health Care Plan
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Almost 700,000 Americans have been removed from a health care plan in Illinois over a two-year period, data from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research and news organization, has shown.
These Americans have been removed from the state's Medicaid program as part of the unwinding process happening nationwide after Medicaid coverage was expanded during the COVID pandemic.
Newsweek has contacted the Illinois Department of Public Health via email for comment.
Why It Matters
While some of those disenrolled from the program in Illinois may have access to other forms of health insurance, many risk losing all access to health coverage.
There has been growing concern in recent months about how high levels of uninsured Americans could impact health outcomes, as without coverage, Americans may delay seeking medical care.
This in turn could potentially increase demand for emergency care services, while ramping up costs and worsening chronic and mental health conditions.
In this file photo, a doctor pushes a man in a wheelchair.
In this file photo, a doctor pushes a man in a wheelchair.What To Know
During the COVID pandemic, some states expanded access to Medicaid, the federal health program for those with limited income and resources, through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
These states were then forced to keep recipients on the program despite any changes to their eligibility until March 2023 under federal rules.
That month, states were then allowed to start the "unwinding" process, whereby those no longer eligible for the program were rolled off.
In Illinois, there were 3,826,461 covered by Medicaid in March 2023, but by April 2025, that number was 3,146,295, KFF data shows.
However, while this marked a drop of hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients, the enrollment levels did not return back to pre-pandemic levels, as they were still 7 percent higher than levels in February 2020.
"The unwinding has taken place over a year and Medicaid enrollment is still higher now than in the pre-pandemic period," Kathleen Adams, professor of health policy and management at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Georgia, told Newsweek.
There are also variations between states in relation to how quickly the unwinding process is occurring.
While highly populated states like California, Florida, New York and Texas have all seen bigger drops in enrollment than Illinois, there is also a difference in rate between states based on which opted to expand Medicaid.
"Some states that had not expanded Medicaid under the ACA did so recently and many of them show the largest increases in enrollment from their pre-pandemic levels," Adams said.
Differences in how the states approached the unwinding process also had an impact.
Going forward, concerns with Medicaid enrollment are increasing as the Trump administration's planned changes to the program, under President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," will fall into place—such as work requirements impacting eligibility.
What People Are Saying
Adams also told Newsweek: "We are always concerned with the loss of insurance coverage, especially among the lower income and vulnerable groups traditionally served by Medicaid. If these individuals are not able to find a source of other coverage such as Employer Sponsored Insurance or through the subsidized exchanges, they will have lower access to needed health care, face higher costs if they obtain care and could impose costs on the health care system as they are forced to seek care in ERs or other publicly subsidized sources of care."
She added: "The loss of insurance coverage among lower-income and medically fragile individuals, often covered by Medicaid programs, can certainly increase health problems in the US. With the loss of coverage, households lose access to needed services such as preventive and primary care and as well as the services needed to manage chronic conditions. The overall health of the nation can be affected. There would also be increased demand for services from the safety-net system, for example Federally Qualified Health Centers, and increased uncompensated care costs at our hospitals."
What Happens Next
As the unwinding continues, more reductions in enrollment are expected across the country, elevating concerns about how the rates of uninsured Americans could impact health outcomes.
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