DHS Urges Pennsylvanians to Take Action on Medicaid

Medicaid, Pennie take focus with end of continuous enrollment

February 09, 2023

State officials are urging Pennsylvanians to get ready for the end of continuous enrollment in the Medicaid program during April.

The year-end spending bill from Congress included a provision ending Medicaid’s continuous enrollment after March 31. The continuous enrollment provision helped ensure access to insurance coverage during the pandemic. The upcoming expiration date means that Pennsylvania will resume its normal process to ensure beneficiaries qualify for the program.

State officials this week are urging anyone enrolled in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program to make sure their contact information is correct so they can receive timely updates about their benefits. The effort is part of a broader outreach program to alert the public about the end of continuous enrollment.

“Recent federal law changes Medicaid renewal guidelines, and we need everyone to be aware of those and know what they need to do to stay covered,” said Val Arkoosh, acting secretary for the Department of Human Services (DHS).

• About the deadline:  Medicaid renewals due during March 2023 will be the first affected by the end of continuous coverage. People with Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage will receive information leading up to renewal.
  • State officials said affected individuals would have an opportunity to complete a renewal, and that renewals will be completed over 12 months.
• Update you information, find renewal date:  To update your information and additional details about your annual renewal can be found online.
• Other options:  Those who no longer qualify for Medicaid will be pointed to other insurance options, such as CHIP and Pennie.
• Path to Pennie: This week, the state announced an optional tax form—the REV-1882—that will help people begin the process toward open enrollment in the Pennie health care marketplace if they need health insurance.
  • After submitting the form, filers will receive official postal notice from Pennie about how to begin a 60-day special enrollment period.
• Quotable:  “Path to Pennie provides uninsured Pennsylvanians with a unique opportunity to enroll in quality, low-cost, health coverage,” Pennie Executive Director Zachary Sherman said in a statement.

Additional information about the end of continuous Medicaid enrollment is available online.