Continuous Enrollment Ends March 31, 2023.

If you or a family member receives Medicaid benefits to cover nursing home or other medical expenses, you know that pre-covid you had to renew that eligibility every year.  During the last three years, because of the Covid pandemic, the government waived the annual renewal requirement, but that waiver will soon end. Starting April 1, 2023, states must start sending notices to Medicaid enrollees to start the renewal process and must finish sending those notices by May 1, 2024.  Any beneficiary who does not file the proper forms on time or are otherwise ineligible will be disenrolled – meaning they will lose their benefits.  Because of the one-year phase-down period, you may not receive your notice the first week in April.  But you need to watch for it.

You don’t want to be one of the 6.8 million who the government expects to lose benefits despite being eligible to renew.  This could be catastrophic if Medicaid is paying or subsidizing your parent’s nursing home costs or if your disabled child loses medical benefits.  Some people will lose coverage because they won’t receive notices of the requirement to renew – although the states are required to maintain and even seek up-to-date contact information.  Some enrollees will have moved since enrolling or since their last renewal.  Newer enrollees may not even realize they need to renew.  Others won’t understand the forms. Still others will fail to respond to notices requesting additional information necessary to verify eligibility – perhaps because they think they already sent the requested information.  Or they will fail to respond quickly enough.

So what should you do?

1.       Don’t rely on the State of Texas to find you.   Log onto your account at MyTexasBenefits.com account at https://www.yourtexasbenefits.com/ytb/Public/Login and check that your address and other contact information is current.

2.      Don’t ignore any notices or other contact you receive from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.  If you receive emails requesting information, go to your YourTexasBenefits account, call 211 and select option 2, or contact the department through the phone number provided in the mailing.  If you wish to reply by phone or email, confirm the department’s phone number or email on their website before providing private information.

3.      Check any deadlines given in letters very carefully.   It is not unusual for the deadline to expire within just a couple of days after you receive the letter – or for the deadline to have already expired.  If that is the case, take action immediately.

4.      When you do send information, keep proof of what you sent and when.  It is not unusual for HHSC to be unable to find information that you have sent to them.  You should follow up to make sure they received everything you sent.

5.      If an attorney helped you apply for benefits, you may want to contact that attorney to be sure you complete the information correctly and on time.  If an attorney didn’t help you with the original application, you can still call one if you need help renewing or if you missed a deadline.

If you are no longer eligible for Medicaid benefits, the State is supposed to provide you with information to obtain medical insurance on the Affordable Care Marketplace.  It is up to you to follow through so you will continue to have medical coverage.

Megan Baumer
Law Office of Michael Baumer
Austin, Texas
512-376-8707
Blog: www.baumerestateplanning.com
Website:  www.baumerlaw.com/estate-planning

Photo by Prakasit Khuansuwan at <a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos”>Free Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>