At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, significant, but temporary, changes were made to Medicaid enrollment and eligibility rules to prevent people from losing Medicaid coverage during the pandemic. With the end of the federal Public Health Emergency on May 11, 2023, all states are resuming their regular processes for renewing individuals’ Medicaid coverage. We need to get the word out to people enrolled in Medicaid. They need to know that they may have to take action to remain covered and that there are steps they can take if they lose Medicaid.
Based on data from 41 states and the District of Columbia, KFF reports that almost 3.8 million people have been disenrolled from Medicaid as of August 1, 2023. Many of these people may still be eligible for Medicaid, but lost coverage because they didn’t return forms, or they or the state made other mistakes.
It is crucial to make sure everyone covered by Medicaid knows:
• Over the next 12 months, everyone with health care coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will need to renew their coverage.
• What they need to do to avoid losing coverage if they are still eligible.
• Other options for coverage if they are no longer eligible for Medicaid or CHIP (such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace or employer-sponsored coverage), and how to find help navigating them.
• Programs that can help if they want to appeal the loss of Medicaid coverage.
We need your help to spread the word. No one else can match the ability of the aging and disability networks to reach disabled people and older adults!
Every Medicaid beneficiary needs to receive these important messages:
• UPDATE your contact information with your state Medicaid agency NOW.
• RESPOND to the Medicaid renewal form when it comes in the mail. If you don’t, you may lose your coverage even if you are still eligible.
• PARENTS should respond even if you are not eligible or are enrolled in other coverage. Your children could still be eligible for coverage.
• CONNECT WITH RESOURCES THAT CAN HELP: If you lose Medicaid coverage and think you may still be eligible, there are programs that may be able to help you appeal the denial of Medicaid coverage or find other insurance.
• State protection and advocacy systems and legal advocacy organizations funded under the Older Americans Act may be able to help with appeals.
• Disabled people of all ages can contact the Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) for assistance.
• Older adults can contact the Eldercare Locator to find local assistance.
• Older adults and people with disabilities who are eligible for Medicare can also find assistance through their State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). SHIP is a national program that offers one-on-one assistance, counseling, and education to Medicare beneficiaries of all ages, their families, and caregivers to help them make informed decisions about their care and benefits.
• Benefit Enrollment Centers can also help connect people with insurance or other benefits.
• CHECK OTHER OPTIONS: If you are no longer eligible for Medicaid, you should check to see if you can get coverage through your employer or through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace at www.healthcare.gov.
Please look for ways to share these messages widely. State Units on Aging should share this information with Area Agencies on Aging and other providers with whom they or AAAs contract. Include them in your newsletters and add them to flyers packaged with home-delivered meals or distributed at training events, work them into your information and referral activities, share on social media, post on bulletin boards – you get the idea. Be sure to include the name of your state’s Medicaid program and ACA Marketplace – many people don’t realize they have Medicaid coverage if it goes by another name in their state, and they may not realize that they need to look for renewal information. (You can find links to your state Medicaid agency online.)
ACL’s networks are a part of the communities you serve and your community connections can make a huge difference in this effort. Please work with your community networks and other groups who can help — not only with getting the word out about redeterminations but also with finding creative ways to protect Medicaid eligibility and assisting people who may no longer be eligible for Medicaid in getting other health coverage. You also can make a big difference by working with your state to get state-specific information out.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed a variety of materials that you can use to ensure your communities and networks have this important information. For example, their Communications Toolkit — available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese — contains important messages and sample materials (like drop-in articles, social media messages, and flyers) for states and other partners to use. CMS has also created fact sheets, including one with suggestions for things you can do to help keep people covered.
We encourage you to work with your state Medicaid agency to ensure that the process of renewing Medicaid eligibility goes smoothly for older people and people with disabilities. Provide them information on how you and other network entities can help. Share success stories and problems that Medicaid beneficiaries and the organizations that work with them encounter. You can play an important role to help the renewal process move smoothly.
Additionally, CMS will be hosting a series of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Renewals webinars focused on special populations, including one focused on reaching aging and disability populations on Thursday, August 17 from 3-4pm ET. This webinar series will provide partners with strategies to reach out to diverse communities and audiences to share information about Medicaid and CHIP renewals. Each webinar will also include a “train-the-trainer” presentation, during which CMS will walk-through a set of downloadable slides that partners can use to educate others in their communities about Medicaid and CHIP renewals. Registration is required.
For additional information and the latest resources, visit the “unwinding” page on ACL.gov.
Making sure people stay covered will take an “all hands on deck” effort, but together, we can make sure every American has access to quality, affordable health coverage.
