Thousands of Michiganders are losing their Medicaid coverage. What happens now?

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A little more than 12,000 Michiganders have lost their Medicaid coverage this summer and about 100,000 others are at risk of being unenrolled from the public health insurance program if they don't submit necessary paperwork by the end of July, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) says.

Medicaid enrollees can check their renewal month and find out more information about re-enrolling at michigan.gov/MIBridges.

Low-income Michigan residents, like people across the country, are currently in the process of having to re-enroll in Medicaid due to legislation federal lawmakers passed late last year. Prior to June, Medicaid enrollees in Michigan had not been required to reapply for coverage since the COVID-19 pandemic hit here in March 2020.

"While we're happy that many Michiganders have maintained coverage, we want to emphasize how important it is for people who receive re-enrollment packets to fill out their information and return it promptly," said Meghan Groen, DHHS senior deputy director for the Behavioral and Physical Health and Aging Services Administration and Medicaid director. "The department will continue to do all we can to reach people who have not responded so that they can keep their coverage if they remain eligible."

In Michigan, annual renewals are being staggered to take place monthly starting in June and running through May 2024.

This reapplication process means Michiganders, and Americans in general, are losing Medicaid coverage both because they no longer qualify – their income is now too high to be eligible, for example – and due to red tape, such as enrollees not sending the necessary paperwork or being unaware they need to reapply. Medicaid is the country's public health insurance program that provides health coverage for about 85.2 million low-income adults, pregnant people and children nationwide. In Michigan, 3.1 million people – a little less than one-third of the state – are covered by public insurance.

So far, DHHS has determined 6,935 people in Michigan were disenrolled for eligibility reasons, such as their income increasing. Another 5,076 people were disenrolled for procedural reasons, including an individual moving out of state or not completely filling out the necessary paperwork. Their last day for Medicaid coverage was June 30, according to DHHS.

Michiganders who have been disenrolled for not completing their renewal paperwork can submit the information to the state within 90 days to have their case reviewed and their Medicaid reinstated should they continue to be eligible, DHHS said.

The health department is currently waiting for the completed Medicaid enrollment forms from 100,161 people in Michigan, who could lose their coverage if they don't submit the necessary paperwork by the end of July. During the re-enrollment process, DHHS has so far renewed Medicaid or Healthy Michigan plan coverage for 103,540 people. Healthy Michigan is a Medicaid program provided through DHHS and authorized under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

State health officials emphasized they have been working to ensure that Medicaid enrollees know they must reapply. Four months before someone's renewal date, DHHS begins sending monthly notices with information about the reapplication process. They also follow up with text messages, phone calls, and emails during an individual's renewal month.

Last week, the DHHS unveiled an online dashboard that provides data on the renewal process.

"We want to be sure that as many Michiganders as possible can continue to receive Medicaid coverage so that they can keep their families healthy or help people sign up for an affordable new plan," DHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in a press release. "This new dashboard allows the public to view our progress as we renew Medicaid coverage for families who remain eligible."

Why do Michiganders have to reapply for Medicaid after years of not doing so?

Not long after the first COVID cases appeared in the United States, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in March 2020, which prohibited states from removing people from Medicaid.

In the years that followed, the number of people accessing Medicaid in Michigan grew by about 700,000 and there's now about 3.1 million Michiganders using public health insurance, according to the DHHS. That 3.1 million includes about 2.1 million people accessing Medicaid and another million people using Healthy Michigan.

Late last year, federal lawmakers passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in December. That allowed states to begin reviewing, and potentially removing, individuals from Medicaid beginning in April.

Since then, at least 2.1 million people across the country have been disenrolled from Medicaid as of July 13, according to health policy researcher KFF. That disenrollment doesn't necessarily mean those individuals no longer meet the requirements for public health insurance. Rather, data has shown that people are losing coverage due to procedural reasons – such as Medicaid members not returning necessary paperwork.

KFF noted that not all states have publicly available data on total disenrollments, which means its national disenrollment figure is lower than the actual total.

In Michigan, the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency reported as many as 400,000 Michiganders could lose their Medicaid coverage under this review.

As of Thursday, Michigan had the lowest Medicaid disenrollment rate – 10% – of any state with publicly available data, KFF reported. Idaho, meanwhile, had the highest disenrollment rate at 76%.

Florida had the highest number of people – 303,000 – disenrolled from Medicaid, followed by 217,000 in Arkansas and 200,000 in Arizona, according to KFF. Washington, D.C., meanwhile, had the fewest disenrollments – 3,000.

What should Michiganders know about re-enrolling?

Michiganders who want to know more about re-applying for Medicaid coverage can go to michigan.gov/MIBridges to check their renewal month and find out more information.

DHHS said Michiganders who will need to reapply should:

* Make sure their address, phone number and email address are up to date at michigan.gov/MIBridges. They can also call their local MDHHS office to update their information.

* Report any changes to household or income at gov/MIBridges or by calling a local MDHHS office.

* Be sure to fill out a renewal packet received in the mail. The forms need to be completed, signed and returned by the due date specified in the package.

If someone loses their Medicaid coverage, the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) is working with DHHS to help impacted residents access affordable health insurance. To contact the DIFS, call 877-999-6442 or visit Michigan.gov/StayCovered.

More information about how benefits connected to COVID-19 are changing can be found at www.Michigan.gov/2023BenefitChanges.

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The post Thousands of Michiganders are losing their Medicaid coverage. What happens now? appeared first on Michigan Advance.