Protect Your Coverage: Upcoming Changes to Student Medicaid Requirements

Posted Date: 03/10/2023

An upcoming health care coverage change will impact students who currently rely on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for health insurance.  Since the COVID pandemic’s Public Health Emergency began in March 2020, children and families enrolled in Medicaid have not been required to complete renewal paperwork in order to stay covered. Beginning April 1 2023,  this continuous coverage protection will lift, and states will resume reviewing eligibility for all people enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP to ensure they still qualify.

To reduce loss of health coverage, it is important that parents act quickly to confirm or update their contact information with the State Medicaid agency and provide necessary information to complete their Medicaid renewal when notified. Families could be notified about their renewal paperwork at any point this year or early next year.

The first step for families is to make sure that their state Medicaid agency has the correct contact information for every member of their family on Medicaid, so they receive their renewal notices when the time comes. If families don’t receive the notice, they may not realize their child has been disenrolled from coverage and is uninsured until it is too late. The second step is for families to quickly fill out the paperwork and return it should they get a notification.