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Enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program increased 5.6% between July 2019 and July 2020, driven largely by the economic downturn created by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a released yesterday by the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.

Enrollment rose in all states except the District of Columbia and Montana, with increases ranging from 0.2% in South Carolina to 30% in Idaho, which expanded Medicaid to adults in 2020.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and related unemployment have major implications for Medicaid and CHIP,” said MACPAC Chair Melanie Bella. “This publication provides invaluable insights at a critical time for federal and state policymakers, researchers, and anyone who wants to fully understand what’s happening with the health care of the more than one-quarter of the U.S. population who are covered by Medicaid or CHIP.”