Virginians receiving continuous Medicaid coverage was one of the benefits of a pandemic-era law, proving to be a lifeline to children and families and helping to bring down the overall uninsured rate. The provision however is set to expire on April 1, and the regular Medicaid renewal process will resume. Now, even eligible children could lose coverage due to difficulties in the renewal process, like staffing and lack of communication. Learn more in this “Medicaid Unwinding” vlog from Policy Analyst, Emily Moore.

Additional resources:

Medicaid and FAMIS have been valuable lifelines for kids during the pandemic. As pandemic coverage protections end, 146,452 of Virginia’s kids are at risk of becoming uninsured. Read more about the high stakes for children when the Medicaid continuous coverage protection expires in the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families 2023 Annual State Enrollment Report.

• Learn more in this Renewal Process Flowchart.
• Stay up to date on timelines and access information through Cover Virginia at coverva.org/en/phe-planning.  
• For additional help, Medicaid enrollees can visit Enroll Virginia, enrollva.org/get-help or call 888.392.5132 to make a free appointment with a navigator. Navigators can help complete renewal forms, reapply for Medicaid, or transition to new affordable coverage through the Marketplace.
• Head to Facebook to watch the recording of Enroll Virginia’s Facebook live event in English and Spanish from February 16, “The End of the Public Health Emergency and Medicaid: What You Need to Know.”

Virginia will start to review Medicaid members’ health coverage beginning in March 2023. They will not cancel or reduce coverage for members without asking for updated information, but they need your help to make this a smooth process. You can take steps now to make sure you receive information you will need to renew your coverage.

What Medicaid members can do now:

Update your contact information. You can make updates:

• Online at commonhelp.virginia.gov
• By calling Cover Virginia at 855.242.8282, or
• By calling your local Department of Social Services (Local DSS office locator tool).

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