Changes Coming Soon to Medicaid

It is well known that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the disability community in numerous positive and negative ways. While many disabled individuals enjoyed increased access to programs during the pandemic due to a focus on accessibility and hybrid models, many beneficial accommodations have been rolled back as the world has focused on reopening and getting back to the way things were four years ago.

The current casualty is Medicaid. In the beginning of 2020, the federal government declared a COVID-19 Public Health Emergency which has allowed states to be eligible for extra funding in order to prevent beneficiaries from losing their health coverage. This has made it easier than ever for more people to get access to Medicaid programs.

However, it was announced on January 30th that the public health emergency will end on May 11, 2023. This will decrease Medicaid funding and open it back up to the state to reassess beneficiaries and drop them from receiving services as they see fit. This reassessment process can begin as early as this month and starting April 1, 2023 states may begin terminating Medicaid coverage.

While this is primarily focused on people who received Medicaid during the height of the pandemic, it is possible for others to get caught in the crossfire if their information is not up to date.

If you or a family member has Medicaid, these next few months are very important for making sure you remain covered. Check your mail and email regularly and respond to any concerns from your local Medicaid office. Make sure your contact information and address are up to date and confirm that you are compliant with the financial eligibility requirements under Medicaid.

The best thing you can do is to act early and make sure you are covered before a problem arises. If you wait and end up losing eligibility, it may be much harder to fight to get back on Medicaid.

Read more about what this means and next steps on the NCDHHS website at https://medicaid.ncdhhs.gov/COVID