Updates on Medicaid renewals
By Patti Cullen, CAE | July 28, 2023 | All members
Minnesotans whose Medical Assistance renewal forms are due July 31 are strongly encouraged to submit their paperwork as quickly as possible, so they don’t lose their insurance—that includes people who got a one-month extension from their original June 30 renewal deadline.
Efforts to reach enrollees in July so far include over 92,000 text messages and 290,000 paper notices through the mail. Partners are also reaching out through direct phone calls, texts, emails and in-person contacts in some locations. One in four Minnesotans has Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare. By May 2024, state, county, and Tribal workers will check eligibility requirements for 1.5 million people.
Approximately 191,000 people face a July 31 deadline to renew Medical Assistance:
- Almost 99,000 people with a July 31 renewal date
- About 92,000 people with a June 30 renewal date that was extended
Minnesota is one of 11 states allowed to extend coverage for the July cohort, which means the July 1 deadline was extended to August 1 for enrollees who would have been terminated for procedural reasons in the first renewal cohort. This means there were no procedural terminations effective July 1, however, some no longer eligible for Medicaid after completing their renewal documents did lose coverage retroactive to July 1, 2023.
In a July 25, 2023, message from DHS Assistant Commissioner, the following was noted:
About 56,000 people, or 23,500 households, with an August renewal have yet to turn in their renewal paperwork and are receiving notices that their coverage is closing. We want these Medical Assistance enrollees to know they still should submit renewal paperwork during the extension, and they need to do it ASAP. Delays put them at risk for coverage gaps that will need to be remedied later. Getting the paperwork in now saves expense and burden for all involved. In addition to closed coverage notices, DHS will also reach out to these enrollees via text and voice message in enrollees’ preferred language.
Please note, coverage will still end Aug. 1 for the July renewal cohort who had their renewal deadline extended from June 30 to July 31 but have not responded to their renewal.
Medical Assistance renewals will continue each month. People can look up their renewal month at:
https://mn.gov/dhs/renewmycoverage/.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), posted a new set of
training slides now available for download on the “
Medicaid and CHIP Renewals Outreach and Educational Resources” webpage, with the “
Unwinding and Returning to Regular Operations after COVID-19” section of the Medicaid site. These slides cover what people enrolled in these programs need to do to renew their coverage with their state Medicaid or CHIP office, or how they can find other health coverage if they are no longer eligible for coverage with Medicaid or CHIP.
We encourage you to use these slides to help educate people in your community about Medicaid and CHIP renewals.
Patti Cullen, CAE | President/CEO |
pcullen@careproviders.org | 952-851-2487