[NFBN-Announce] FW: Important Blog: All Hands on Deck: Medicaid Beneficiaries Must Take Action to Keep Their Coverage

Thu Jul 13 23:48:14 UTC 2023

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Subject: Blog: All Hands on Deck: Medicaid Beneficiaries Must Take Action to
Keep Their Coverage

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All Hands on Deck: Medicaid Beneficiaries Must Take Action to Keep Their
Coverage

By Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging

We need your help get the word out to people enrolled in Medicaid that they
may have to take action to remain covered and that there are steps they can
take if they lose Medicaid.

As we've discussed on this blog before (
<https://click.connect.hhs.gov/?qs=ff787a19c790dac7349991986a0f592336a6348c9
bf0e6f9ff76d7d39b593fa196fd055f23bb64a380fd23d59ad1042cd4f20d1ff8a3f3db> on
3/22 and
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ed111d42ac9e198717c0ee9c0989791c8d043251f8669c817fffa7e6988a3817fa25efd>
5/15), at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, significant 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, those flexibilities have ended, and
all states are resuming their regular processes for renewing individuals'
Medicaid coverage.

Based on data from 28 states and the District of Columbia, Kaiser Family
Foundation reports that more than 1.6 million people have been disenrolled
from Medicaid as of July 5, 2023. Many of these people may still be eligible
for Medicaid but lost coverage because they didn't return forms (or either
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.

If you're reading this blog, we need your help to spread the word. If you're
part of the aging and disability networks, your help is particularly
important - no one else has your ability 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.
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04254b400ddd5f8f10e68d4723729ef786e03fbd92b2cf63d561ea2d89c6e3bb120de67>
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 also contact the
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2c05be89f2b42ecf2ba75881fa1ae05d30c6ec55ba58079ea55bc392d8b89ca9e1cdc25>
Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) for assistance, and older
adults can contact the
<https://click.connect.hhs.gov/?qs=ff787a19c790dac73a046461261fa7c0a4a14633a
d74bf4ed35a032c320cf73f99f79bc8309d0773bf3f4b0626b4a810b632984516bd8024>
Eldercare Locator to find local assistance.
*	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
<https://click.connect.hhs.gov/?qs=ff787a19c790dac7344ccd5663c7efe10014b962e
4638419773d1a0099414a22db41aa2f5700cc81e885ed66fdcbf6bcee7a24dee8099a5e>
healthcare.gov. Older adults and people with disabilities who are eligible
for Medicare can also find assistance through their
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d15deca3e6e240d56d1f7502da60bd3484b6218b84fc14d1e1ba7fd55db675c1bf763b2>
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.

Please look for ways to share these messages widely. Include them in your
newsletters, add them to flyers packaged with home-delivered meals, 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.
<https://click.connect.hhs.gov/?qs=ff787a19c790dac79b6c0bd719115657032d28e14
301c7a6caa7ff29154ac1c5d2d477da551088cdfcc047b0ad6ff6ef21e6ccda83c1c0ab>
Find links to your state Medicaid agency.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed a
<https://click.connect.hhs.gov/?qs=ff787a19c790dac7ceade5c40c57952aefd9e6912
ef1ce9f73d07b67c55f20f922a6a33991605b7c1a72dfc9401ba0f57aeeb760b7ef0214>
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 a variety of fact sheets, including
one with a variety of suggestions for
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994d3c58d8b73b21d2ef23e6ff67259ed7a2fe3f7705e4b86a19187887a638cd870b888>
things you can do to help keep people covered.

Finally, in a recent
<https://click.connect.hhs.gov/?qs=ff787a19c790dac7b8ef03861acca821acbf233ad
13ba0841d37de6d7feee14012a1f68698c2e98ae63c5760f6b8fce24743bbc5050f73fb>
letter to U.S. governors, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra
urged states to adopt
<https://click.connect.hhs.gov/?qs=ff787a19c790dac7f439ddaa54a6878a2b14720b0
f4e80e0d32bfbf3d659bcb043547a8b82795826c75a98f7e36403b001858dab9b937cba> all
options HHS has offered to help eligible individuals and families maintain
their health coverage during unwinding. Your advocacy can play an important
role in implementing these options.

Making sure people stay covered will take an "
<https://click.connect.hhs.gov/?qs=ff787a19c790dac7eae484476b02f0b849c846f71
56dbcd13598bc8420480585885c85bf22ea21de86c8c5f4f4fb5472889da8eea6c39a4a> all
hands on deck" effort, but together, we can make sure every American has
access to quality, affordable health coverage.  

For additional information and the latest resources, visit the
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78ba77cbaf13c351349c688805d5134bf3b77756a8ec0b43bb4401a9646e8156b931c50>
"Unwinding" page on ACL.gov.

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04465ede15ba90c27600b9f0634e6598613f5b5c17fd10ad2e7201d8f47eed88a956a27> 

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ACL.gov  
Advancing independence, integration, and inclusion throughout life

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