You must reapply after April 1
Friday, March 31 is the last day for you to renew your Medicaid coverage.
That’s because the federal government has declared the COVID-19 emergency is over.
During the declared public health emergency, Medicaid renewal rules were relaxed. Now, Medicare recipients will need to reapply for their benefits starting April 1.
If you don’t reapply, or if you don’t qualify anymore, you will be dropped from Medicaid. However, if your individual income is more than $14,580, or if you support a family of four on more than $30,000 per year, you could be eligible for low- or no-cost coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Medicaid is a federal program, run by the Department of Health and Human Services, that helps people pay their medical bills. Different programs apply to different people. Some programs are for low-income people; other are for “medically needy” people whose bills are too high for their income level.
If you are a senior or disabled, a young mother, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, breast or cervical cancer, or a child in foster care, the adoption process, or the juvenile justice system—just to name a few—you could be eligible for help.
You can see programs for Georgia residents, like PeachCare for Kids, Planning for Healthy Babies (P4HB), Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Right From the Start, among others, at https://medicaid.georgia.gov/programs.
If you’ve never applied for Medicaid, you can read more about the requirements here.
You should update your information on your Gateway account right away so that you don’t fall through the cracks. Go to staycovered.ga.gov to learn more.
As of Friday, according to a Department of Health and Human Services memo sent to state health officials nationwide, states are allowed to “terminate Medicaid enrollment of individuals who no longer meet Medicaid eligibility requirements on or after April 1, 2023.” It also “amends the conditions states must meet to claim, and extends the availability of, the temporary FMAP increase beginning April 1, 2023, gradually phasing down the increase until December 31, 2023” and adds new state reporting requirements.
If you’re looking for a job and have a high school diploma or GED plus one year of customer service, or if you’re completed 90 hours of college coursework, the Georgia Department of Human Services is hiring people to help with the expected flood of applications.
Información de Medicaid disponible en español
¿Cómo renovar su Medicaid y evitar perder su cobertura? desde Univisión
