The Not-so-Great Unwinding
During the official COVID emergency, federal policies barred states from dropping Medicaid recipients from the program. Those policies are now coming to an end, or “unwinding,” as it’s known.
This means that people receiving BadgerCare benefits will have to apply for benefits again. That could affect up to 300,000 Wisconsin residents, at least temporarily. It could also mean a huge spike in unmet need.
At the same time, bills introduced in the state legislature would “tighten the process” for establishing eligibility for Medicaid benefits. The bills would prohibit automatic re-enrollment and add requirements to application process. They would also make it easier to remove recipients for things like missing a deadline or failing to update their address or phone number, and to keep them out of eligibility longer. (Read my colleague Peter Bakken’s rather tart appraisal of the bills for more information.)
What you need to know about Medicaid re-enrollment
Here’s what to know, and what to share with your community.
Update your address. BadgerCare recipients often lose eligibility for failing to give the state up-to-date information. Recipients can provide this info by going to access.wi.gov or by using the MyACCESS mobile app. If you have moved within the past two years, make sure the state has your current address.
Watch. Read. Act. Another common problem is failing to respond to a renewal notice. The state will send letters to BadgerCare recipients before their benefits end. BadgerCare members must respond within 45 days to maintain their eligibility. It’s important to keep an eye out for that piece of mail and to act on it promptly.
Renewals are coming back—but not yet. The sheer volume makes it impossible to handle all the renewals at once. Instead, the state will assign BadgerCare members renewal dates between June 2023 and May 2024. They can check out what they need to do on DHS’ health care renewal page. But—and this is very important—they should not renew until they have been assigned a date. Recipients remain eligible until determined otherwise, and there is always a risk they will be determined otherwise. It’s better to wait and take the benefit for as long as they can.
Coverage has not ended for anyone yet. Don’t put off necessary medical care. Coverage continues for everyone at least through the end of June. Members will have plenty of notice of their renewal date.
Extra FoodShare benefits have ended. But eligible families will continue to receive their regular amounts.
Some other things
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I’ve included sample Facebook posts about all this down below. They’re in English, but they’re also available in Spanish and Hmong on the DHS website. You can also find flyers, outreach cards and sample Twitter posts there.
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There is a need for renewal application assisters. If you’d like to help others in your community continue their benefits, let me know. I will connect you to the right people.
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If you would like someone to present on this to your community, again, please let me know. We have some partners would be willing to explain in more detail.
We’ll keep you posted on any further developments on this and other COVID-related issues. In the meantime, be good to one another. We need it.
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