Plans Encouraged to Extend Special Enrollment for Medicaid and CHIP
On July 20, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Departments of Labor (“DOL”) and the Treasury (collectively, “the Departments”) issued a letter to employers, plan sponsors and carriers encouraging that they allow additional time to enroll in employer-sponsored health plans for individuals who have lost Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”) coverage due to Medicaid resuming normal eligibility and enrollment procedures and operations.
Background
Typically, eligibility for Medicaid coverage must be renewed annually; however, during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the eligibility rules for renewal were paused to minimize coverage loss for members. This termination pause expired on March 31, 2023, under the terms of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.
Medicaid agencies nationwide are now in the process of resuming normal eligibility and enrollment procedures and operations, which includes reviewing coverage eligibility for all individuals under Medicaid/CHIP. With this resumption of the “pre-COVID” process, many individuals are no longer eligible and will lose Medicaid or CHIP coverage. The Departments note that:
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