Stay Covered! FAQs
This page will be updated with additional FAQs as they become available.
Why are redeterminations resuming?
Beginning April 1, 2023, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid (DOM) will resume eligibility determinations in compliance with the requirements of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) passed by Congress in December.
Because of the COVID-19 public health emergency, annual redeterminations of Medicaid members have been paused since March of 2020. But now all states are required to resume the eligibility renewal process by April 1.
Why were redeterminations paused?
In January 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a public health emergency (PHE) in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.
In March 2020, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to help states respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the FFCRA, the federal government provided states with a 6.2 percentage point increase to their federal funding match rate. To remain eligible for that enhanced match rate, states were prohibited in most circumstances from disenrolling members from Medicaid.
In December 2022, Congress passed the CAA. Per the CAA, the continuous coverage condition that prohibited states from disenrolling members from Medicaid will expire on March 31, 2023.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has instructed all states to begin normal redetermination operations by April 1, 2023, at the latest.
How long will the process take?
Following federal guidance, renewals for all current Medicaid members must be initiated within 12 months following April 1, and all renewals must be completed within 14 months.
What should members do?
When DOM begins redeterminations, electronic verification sources will first be used to try to renew a member’s benefits.
If more information is needed to complete a renewal, the member will be mailed a renewal form, and they will have 30 days to fill it out and return it. DOM is also reaching out to members via email and text messages.
The most important thing the Division is asking members to do right now is to update their contact information so that they receive important Medicaid documents and information.
The Division is not encouraging individuals to complete an application until they receive a notice from Medicaid, as doing so could potentially have the unintended consequence of adversely impacting their eligibility prematurely.
What if a member no longer qualifies?
We want all eligible Mississippians to stay covered. If a member no longer qualifies for Medicaid coverage, they will get:
- Notice of when their Medicaid coverage will end
- Information on how to file an appeal if the member thinks our decision was incorrect
- A referral to the Federal Marketplace and information about buying other health care coverage
