By skyforbes 
Medicaid’s “unwinding” didn’t end in 2024. It matured. By spring 2025, total Medicaid/CHIP enrollment had declined to approximately 78 million — down 17% from the March 2023 peak — after states had completed the bulk of renewals and terminations. More than 25 million people were ultimately disenrolled during the unwinding, and approximately 7 in 10 of those losses were due to paperwork issues, rather than the individuals being ineligible. KFF
This isn’t just a coverage story. It’s a care story. For vulnerable patients, redeterminations in 2025 continue to result in delayed appointments, refills that are stretched beyond safe windows, and avoidable ER visits. Here’s what the data — and front-line experiences — are signaling now, plus a practical playbook for clinicians, hospitals, and health plans.
The 2025 backdrop: smaller program, still above pre-pandemic — and very different
The continuous coverage protection ended in March 2023; by August 2024, most states had finished their year-long renewal cycle. In 2025, Medicaid/CHIP enrollment stabilized around 78 million — lower than the pandemic peak but still ~9% higher than February 2020. That shift reflects two truths: millions lost coverage, yet the program remains…