End of federal COVID emergency could end Medicaid for thousands of Alaskans

Thousands of Alaskans could lose Medicaid benefits as soon as July, when the federal government’s COVID-19 health emergency is expected to end.

Alaska’s state health officials face the daunting task of combing through pandemic-swollen Medicaid rolls to establish who will no longer be eligible for benefits when the emergency ends.

Health officials, who say they have been preparing for the shift for months, are concerned many of those Alaskans could soon find themselves without health insurance — particularly people who don’t know what steps to take to keep their coverage, don’t have up-to-date...