Wyoming Medicaid restarts renewals, thousands could lose coverage

For the first time in about three years, the Wyoming Department of Health is restarting its annual renewal process for Medicaid enrollees.

The Department of Health announced March 2 that Wyoming Medicaid, a branch of the department, has begun contacting clients and resuming eligibility screenings for those on public health insurance.

"We just started sending renewal notices by mail to clients," Lee Grossman, the director of Wyoming Medicaid and a senior administrator with the Department of Health, said in a news release. "We'll be reviewing eligibility in the same manner as we did before the pandemic so it's not something new."

Medicaid is the joint federal-state insurance program for people with low income, disabilities or those who are in need of long-term care.

As part of the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, former President Donald Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in March 2020, which suspended Medicaid renewals and prevented Wyoming and other states from removing Medicaid enrollees from their rolls in exchange for increased federal funding.

That requirement was in effect for the duration of the public health emergency, but with health measures easing and American life returning to normal life, Congress passed a budget bill in 2022 that sunsets the state Medicaid enrollment requirements on March 31.

Beginning April 1, Wyoming and other states can start removing Medicaid enrollees who no longer qualify.

"We'll be renewing people who are still eligible for Wyoming Medicaid services while we also end coverage for those who are no longer eligible," Grossman said. "This effort is something we've been expecting and planning to accomplish for quite some time and helps ensure state and federal resources are used appropriately."

Over the next year, Wyoming Medicaid will mail renewal notices to current enrollees as it transitions back to its normal operations, according to the Department of Health. Those notices will be staggered and a portion of Medicaid clients will receive the notices each month.

With the suspension of renewals, Wyoming Medicaid has not sent annual mail notices to clients for nearly three years.

Grossman encouraged those on Medicaid to confirm their information with the agency to ensure that they are notified when their Medicaid eligibility comes up for review.

"We do not want covered individuals to lose coverage because we don't have their current address and will be making the best efforts we can to reach people," Grossman said.

Restarting Medicaid renewals will likely have a significant impact for many Wyomingites, especially those on the margins of the public health insurance program.

Over the course of the pandemic, federal requirements increased Medicaid enrollment and lowered uninsured rates, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research group.

Between 10,000 to 15,000 people in Wyoming could lose health insurance in the coming months as a result of pandemic-related changes, Kim Deti, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, told WyoFile.

From 2020 to 2022, Wyoming Medicaid enrollment jumped from approximately 58,500 to more than 77,000 people, according to a Department of Health report released in February.

With the added enrollment, annual costs for the state-federal program have increased by $36.2 million, though the cost per person has actually decreased by more than $150 over those three years.

Before the pandemic, Wyoming had experienced sustained declines in Medicaid enrollment since around 2015, Department of Health data shows.

Nationally between 5 million and 14 million people will lose Medicaid coverage over the next year as states resume their eligibility reviews, according to Kaiser Family Foundation estimates.

During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers and health care groups once again tried to expand Medicaid eligibility in Wyoming. However, House leadership killed the legislation.

Wyoming is the now the only state in the West that has refrained from expanding Medicaid.

Clients of Wyoming Medicaid can update their information online at www.wesystem.wyo.gov or by calling 1-855-294-2127.