Taking Action on Continuous Medicaid Enrollment

February 20, 2023

Continuous enrollment in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid (MA) program expires after March 31, but many beneficiaries are unaware of the upcoming change.

An updated report this month from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute indicated that 64 percent of adults in a Medicaid-enrolled family reported during December that they were not aware that they may lose coverage.

The report underscores the importance of making beneficiaries aware of the upcoming change and pointing them to the available resources for coverage.

“Minimizing increases in uninsurance during unwinding will also likely require engaging community organizations and navigators to help people complete renewal processes or obtain other coverage that may be available, such as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), subsidized marketplace plans, or employer coverage,” the report notes.

Among the important takeaways:

• Upcoming change:  Among adults in a Medicaid-enrolled family, about 5.1 percent had heard a lot about the return to normal Medicaid renewal processes, 13.9 percent had heard some, and 16 percent had heard only a little.
• By region:  Throughout the country, overall lack of awareness of the change was above 60 percent. In the northeast, 66 percent were unaware of the change.
• By Medicaid expansion:  Overall awareness about the end of continuous enrollment was similar in states that had expanded Medicaid programs (64.5%) compared to those that have not (63.7%).
• Update you information:  Update your information and find additional details about your annual renewal online.
• Quotable:  “But with April 2023 fast approaching and projections that as many as 18 million people could lose Medicaid during unwinding, reducing information gaps about the change is a critical first step,” the report notes.

To ensure that patients and families covered by MA and CHIP continue to have health care coverage, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS)—in partnership with provider organizations, including HAP—has developed resources to help providers share important information with patients.

DHS’s stakeholder toolkit includes printable education materials, scripts for conversations with patients, and digital assets, such as social media posts and website graphics.

The toolkit is available online.