As COVID-Era Policies End, Let's Help Families Renew Their Medicaid Coverage

It may not be on your radar screen, but we’re approaching a critical moment for ensuring that kids, moms, and other Texans with Medicaid insurance can keep seeing their health care providers for everything from check-ups to mental health support.

Under federal law put in place for the pandemic, Texans enrolled in Medicaid have been able to keep their Medicaid coverage uninterrupted during the Public Health Emergency. However, under legislation moving through Congress, that “continuous coverage” policy is likely to end in April even if the Public Health Emergency continues — and some states may restart Medicaid disenrollments even sooner than that.

We all need to get to work NOW to make sure this policy change doesn’t lead to a huge spike in Texans losing their health insurance — like when 41 percent of kids enrolled in CHIP in Utah lost their insurance in May. We all need to prepare for the confusion that Texans will face when the state restarts disenrollments in Medicaid.

So we are calling on all health care supporters, medical providers, local and state leaders, community groups, and other advocates for kids and families to help us ensure that:

• Eligible kids, Texans with disabilities, and seniors enrolled in Medicaid aren’t knocked off their health insurance, and

• Moms exiting Medicaid for Pregnant Women and teens who aged out of Children’s Medicaid get the help they need signing up for other health programs.

Here’s how you can help:

First, get up to speed by checking out these two resources from our colleagues at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families:

• Reconciliation Bill Would Phase Out Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement with Key Enrollee Protections

• New! Tips for Advocates on Preparing for Unwinding of the PHE Continuous Eligibility Provision

Second, start getting the message to families that they need to renew their Medicaid when the state contacts them. If they’ve moved, they need to update their contact information in Medicaid as soon as possible so the state can contact them when it’s time to renew. We’ll have more resources in the weeks and months ahead for delivering that message to families and helping them navigate the process.

Third, plan to join with us in the coming months as we work to inform families and to ensure that state officials are taking steps to support Texans through this transition. If you are part of an organization that works with Texas families and you want to be involved in efforts to address this challenge, reach out to Adriana Kohler at [email protected]. And stay tuned for updates.