Des Moines, Iowa — If you or your children were on Medicaid before the pandemic, and during the time since, your income rose above the limit, you will probably lose your Medicaid benefits this year.
From March 2020, through April 1, 2023, Iowa Medicaid was required to maintain continuous health care coverage for members. This meant that if a member’s situation changed (e.g., financially) in a way that would normally disqualify them from the program, Iowa Medicaid was required to maintain coverage for the person during the public health emergency.
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which ends what’s called the Medicaid program’s “continuous coverage requirement” as of April 1, 2023.
According to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, that means that most Medicaid members will go through a redetermination process during the 12-month unwinding period to determine if they are still eligible for any Medicaid program(s). This includes members who have not had a redetermination in the last 12 months and those who have been deemed ineligible but whose coverage is being maintained.
With the initiation of the unwind plan, Iowa Medicaid says they will share important information with members. They say it is critical that Iowa Medicaid members have up-to-date contact information in Medicaid’s database, watch for mail from Iowa Medicaid, and respond to requests for information.
If members do not respond to renewal letters or requests for information, they may lose coverage.
Medicaid officials tell us that if you are set to lose your benefits, they’re not just going to leave you in the lurch. The process will take several months, and they say they will assist by providing information, resources, and processes on obtaining alternative health coverage after disenrollment.
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