(The Center Square) – Michigan has booted about 7,000 people from Medicaid, the government-funded health care program for low-income residents, because they no longer qualify.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services unveiled an online dashboard showing data on the renewal process for Medicaid coverage that restarted recently due to federal legislation.
“We want to be sure that as many Michiganders as possible can continue to receive Medicaid coverage so that they can keep their families healthy or help people sign up for an affordable new plan,” MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in a statement. “This new dashboard allows the public to view our progress as we renew Medicaid coverage for families who remain eligible.”
The annual renewal process follows a three-year pause during the COVID pandemic.
Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan beneficiaries must renew their coverage over the next year to comply with federal legislation that requires states to resume the redetermination of Medicaid eligibility.
In Michigan, annual renewals are staggered to take place monthly starting in June and running through May 2024.
The dashboard shows current data on renewals for June. MDHHS has until the end of July to receive renewal forms from the June cohort and determine eligibility. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services allowed Michigan and other states to take new actions to preserve Medicaid coverage. As a result, MDHHS delayed disqualifying anyone from coverage for not returning the paperwork until the end of July.
The dashboard – which will be updated every month – shows that as of July 6, MDHHS had renewed Medicaid or Healthy Michigan plan coverage for 103,540 people. That includes 30,456 renewals for enrollees who submitted their paperwork and 73,084 for people who were renewed by MDHHS because the department already had necessary information required for eligibility.
As of July 6, the department was awaiting completed enrollment forms from 100,161 people. Exactly 6,935 people were determined to no longer be eligible for Medicaid, such as people whose income has increased and individuals whose cases were closed for administrative reasons – including lack of proof of updated income or exceeding the asset limit for eligibility.
“While we’re happy that many Michiganders have maintained coverage, we want to emphasize how important it is for people who receive reenrollment packets to fill out their information and return it promptly,” Meghan Groen, MDHHS senior deputy director for the Behavioral and Physical Health and Aging Services Administration and Medicaid director, said in a statement. “The department will continue to do all we can to reach people who have not
MDHHS advises families to return any renewal paperwork from the department even if they believe they are no longer eligible for Medicaid. Some members of a household can obtain health care coverage even when others are not eligible.
MDHHS will send monthly renewal notices four months before a beneficiary’s renewal date and follow up with text messages, phone calls, and emails during their renewal month.
More than 3 million Michiganders, including 1 million Healthy Michigan enrollees, benefitted from keeping their Medicaid coverage without redeterminations on eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.
