PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Automatic enrollment for Medicaid was in effect during the pandemic, but now, the health insurance program will require individuals to renew yearly benefits and prove eligibility.
Roughly 84 million Americans are covered by the government-sponsored program, which has grown by 20 million people since January 2020, just before COVID-19 hit. As states begin checking everyone’s eligibility for the first time in three years, as many as 14 million people could lose access to that health care coverage.
City health officials are sounding the alarm.
Philadelphia Public Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said it’s important to get the word out to those receiving Medicaid benefits now so they don’t lose their coverage, which she fears will ultimately happen.
“And that’s why we’re scrambling,” she said, “doing everything across the city — and have been for months — and working very closely with the state to try to prevent anyone from losing their coverage.
“Because people are no longer continuously eligible, as they come up for renewal, that’s the time when they’ll be due and that they can potentially get cut off. So it’s going to be a rolling process over the next year,” she continued.
The city is working feverishly to avoid that from happening, as people will start to come off of the Medicaid rolls this month.
Related
Related
Mitchell Little, executive director of the Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity, said everyone should have access to medical care. His office launched the BenePhilly program in 2013, which offers Philadelphia residents free help to enroll in benefits programs.
“To remove the barriers associated with applying for public benefits like Medicaid by offering one-on-one enrollment assistance for Philadelphians,” Little added. “Philadelphians who need extra assistance recertifying for their Medicaid coverage can turn to a BenePhilly center in their neighborhoods for help.”
Yearly renewals also now apply to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Medicaid renewal applications are due the month before an individual’s coverage expires. Find out more at phila.gov/benephilly.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related
