Medicaid Recipients at Risk of Losing Health Care Coverage

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If you are a Medicaid recipient, you may be at risk of losing insurance coverage and access to specialty care.

At the start of the pandemic, Congress set in place the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that required state Medicaid programs to keep individuals continually enrolled during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

As the public health emergency comes to an end, so did continuous re-enrollment on April 1, 2023.

This means that your family and children could lose vital insurance coverage if appropriate action is not taken.

Patients of Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI) along with over 250,000 Medicaid recipients in Miami-Dade County will be directly affected by the end of the continuous enrollment.

Peter Wood, Vice President of Planning and Government Affairs, worries that this could be a health crisis for families of CHI and South Florida.

“Forty-two percent of people who seek care at CHI depend on Medicaid,” he said. “Families with income more than the state’s eligibility standard for Medicaid but less than the federal poverty line will lose their eligibility for Medicaid. Thousands of families and kids could experience gaps in coverage.”

Medicaid groups expected to be most at risk for eligibility interruptions

-Parents and caregivers who no longer have children under 18

-Youth that are turning 19 or 20

-Older adults with disabilities who are currently on Medicaid and are awaiting Medicare approval

-Former foster children that are turning 26

-Medically needy recipients

How to prepare for the end of Medicaid continuous enrollment

If you are a Medicaid recipient be sure to provide up-to-date personal information to the Department of Children and Families, the state agency that coordinates Medicaid benefits in Florida. This includes your mailing address as DCF will send out notices related to eligibility and further steps.

“Due to this change, it is critical to closely monitor any correspondence with DCF,” Wood said. “It is important for current Medicaid recipients to be prepared for any changes.”

If patients are no longer eligible to be re-enrolled, they should access alternative health insurance as quickly as possible to avoid large gaps in coverage.

CHI outreach staff will be on hand to aid patients in the re-enrollment process for free. To make an appointment with an enrollment specialist call (786)272-2100. CHI health centers will continue to offer services to the uninsured on an income-based payment scale.